The US government acknowledged in a federal court filing that it was liable for damages resulting from a deadly collision between an Army helicopter and a regional American Airlines Group Inc. jetliner earlier this year near Washington, one of the deadliest crashes in decades.
“The United States admits that it owed a duty of care to plaintiffs, which it breached, thereby proximately causing the tragic accident” on Jan. 29 that killed 67 people, Justice Department lawyers wrote in a court document Wednesday in one of about two dozen lawsuits filed over the crash.
The American CRJ-700 jet and the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter collided as the plane approached Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Virginia, with both aircraft falling into the Potomac River. The jet was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members on Flight 5342 from Wichita, Kansas. The helicopter was carrying three people participating in a regular training mission. Family members of the victims have sued the government and American, along with one of its subsidiaries, PSA Airlines.
CNN reported earlier on the Justice Department filing.
Robert Clifford, an attorney representing the wife one of the passengers killed in the crash, said in a statement that the US Army had admitted its “responsibility for the needless loss of life,” as well as the Federal Aviation Administration’s “failure to follow air traffic control procedure.” However, the government was just “one of several causes,” Clifford said, pointing out that American and PSA have sought to dismiss the complaints.
American declined to comment on the recent filing but referred Bloomberg to its motion to dismiss the case against it. In that motion, the airline said it’s “sympathetic to plaintiffs’ desire to obtain redress for this tragedy” but “plaintiffs’ proper legal recourse is not against American. It is against the United States government.”
The FAA referred questions to the Justice Department. The Justice Department didn’t return a request for comment. A spokesperson for the US Army said the military couldn’t comment further due to the ongoing legal proceedings but it looks forward to sharing the changes it’s implemented once the National Transportation Safety Board completes its investigation and the legal matters have been resolved.
The NTSB said in a statement on social media Thursday that its probe into the midair collision is ongoing and won’t be impacted by the civil litigation. “The NTSB’s safety investigation is independent, and its findings, probable cause and recommendations will not be guided by DOJ determinations,” the agency said in an X post.
The collision was followed by several other aviation mishaps, including crashes and near misses, that resulted in widespread concern among the flying public. Since then, the Federal Aviation Administration has stepped up safety measures at the busy Reagan airport and restricted non-essential helicopter operations.
The case is Crafton vs. American Airlines, 25-cv-03382, US District Court, District of Columbia (Washington).
Photo: A crane removes airplane wreckage from the Potomac River in Arlington, Virginia, in Feb. Photographer: Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images
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