Jonathan Campos had always dreamed of being a pilot.
The Brooklyn native had been living out his dream until last week's tragic crash in Washington, D.C. His life was cut short on Jan. 29 when American Airlines flight 5324 collided with a military helicopter over the Potomac River in Washington, D.C.; 67 people were killed.
Campos' high school friend and former fiancé says the captain had always wanted to be a pilot.
"For about a third of my life, he was the love of my life," Nicole Suissa said.
Suissa met Campos when they were only 14 years old at John Dewey High School in Brooklyn. He was her first boyfriend and her former fiancé.
"It may not have worked out with me or with a lot of his relationships, but the longest standing relationship he had was with aviation," Suissa said Saturday.
She said Campos always wanted to be a pilot. He attended Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University at 18. She said he was accomplished -- flying for American Airlines for six years and was captain for three.
In the wake of his tragic passing, Suissa said she wants to protect his legacy and push back against President Donald Trump's unfounded claims that diversity hiring practices could have caused the crash.
"He was a damn good pilot," she said. "I don't think that this has anything to do with DEI. I think unfortunately this is being politicized and that's completely inappropriate."
"Yeah, he's Puerto Rican, that's really irrelevant, doesn't matter what he was. He was a good pilot. He was a good American pilot and that should be the focus."
While he wasn't piloting, Suissa said Campos was goofy, and liked to chase thrills: like riding motorcycles, scuba diving and sky diving.
"This is a man who really knew how to live. I want him to be known for that. I want him to be known for the big personality and the big adventure that he was, instead of how he died."
His passing has left the Campos family overwhelmed and heartbroken.
Suissa said Captain Campos will be buried in New York at the same cemetery as his father. The family is still making funeral arrangements.
"Even if we couldn't be together, we wanted each other to be happy," Suissa said, "and I just, you know, hope whatever the hell he's doing up there, he's happy."
