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14h ago

U.S. Admits Liability in D.C. Midair Crash, Faults Army Pilots and Controller

The Justice Department’s court filing shifts the legal landscape for victims’ lawsuits ahead of the NTSB’s final report.

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Maps are seen during a U.S. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee hearing on the midair collision involving American Airlines 5342 and a U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) on January 29, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 27, 2025. REUTERS/Kent Nishimura
A crane removes airplane wreckage from the Potomac River, where American Airlines flight 5342 collided with a US Army military helicopter, near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, on February 3, 2025.
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Overview

  • The 209-page filing says the United States breached a duty of care and that Army Black Hawk pilots failed to maintain safe visual separation from American Eagle Flight 5342.
  • The Justice Department also says a Reagan National tower controller did not follow FAA procedures on visual separation, even as government lawyers contest the controller’s legal culpability.
  • The Jan. 29 collision over the Potomac killed 67 people, the deadliest U.S. commercial aviation crash in decades.
  • American Airlines and PSA Airlines have moved to dismiss claims, arguing federal preemption and asserting that liability rests with the government.
  • The FAA has curtailed helicopter operations and ended mixed helicopter–fixed-wing visual separation at DCA, and the Senate approved the ROTOR Act to tighten rotorcraft oversight.