(Bloomberg) — The U.S. government has admitted in a federal court filing that it is liable for damages resulting from the fatal collision between an Army helicopter and an American Airlines Group Inc. regional airliner. earlier this year near Washington, one of the deadliest crashes in decades.
“The United States admits it owed a duty of care to the plaintiffs, which it breached by proximately causing the tragic accident” on Jan. 29 that killed 67 people, Justice Department lawyers wrote in a court filing Wednesday in one of about two dozen lawsuits filed over the accident.
A US CRJ-700 jetliner and a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter collided as the aircraft approached Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Virginia, with both aircraft plunging into the Potomac River. Flight 5342 from Wichita, Kansas was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members. The helicopter was carrying three people participating in a regular training mission. Family members of the victims sued the government and America along with one of its subsidiaries, PSA Airlines.
CNN previously reported on the Justice Department’s filing.
Robert Clifford, a lawyer representing the wife of one of the passengers killed in the crash, said in a statement that the US military admitted its “responsibility for the needless loss of life” as well as “FAA’s failure to follow air traffic control procedures.” However, the government was only “one of several reasons,” Clifford said, noting that American and PSA sought to dismiss the complaints.
The American declined to comment on the recent filing, but referred Bloomberg to its motion to dismiss the case against him. In that motion, the airline said it “sympathizes with the plaintiffs’ desire to obtain compensation for this tragedy,” but that “the plaintiffs’ proper remedy is not against America, but against the United States government.”
The FAA referred questions to the Justice Department. The Justice Department did not return a request for comment. A U.S. Army spokesman said the Army could not comment further because of the pending litigation, but looked forward to sharing the changes it has made once the National Transportation Safety Board completes its investigation and legal matters are resolved.
The NTSB said in a statement on social media Thursday that its investigation into the mid-air collision is continuing and will not be affected by the civil lawsuit. “The NTSB’s safety investigation is independent, and its findings, probable cause and recommendations will not be governed by the decisions of the Department of Justice,” the agency said in an X post.
The collision was followed by several other aviation mishaps, including crashes and near misses, which resulted in general concern among the flying public. Since then, the Federal Aviation Administration has tightened security measures at busy Reagan Airport and restricted non-essential helicopter operations.
The case is Crafton vs. American Airlines, 25-cv-03382, U.S. District Court, District of Columbia (Washington).
(Update with NTSB comment in paragraph eight.)
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