DC Plane Crash Lawsuit: Defendants, Liability, and Case Status

Families of those killed in the January 29, 2025 midair collision near Reagan National have filed a consolidated DC plane crash lawsuit against American Airlines, PSA Airlines, and the United States in federal court in Washington, with a jury trial scheduled to begin April 12, 2027 before Judge Ana C. Reyes.¹² The government has already admitted it breached a duty of care owed to the passengers; the airlines have tried and failed to get out of the case. All 67 people aboard the two aircraft died when American Eagle Flight 5342, operated by PSA, collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River.³

Who Is Being Sued

The suits name three defendants and advance distinct theories against each.

Against American Airlines and PSA Airlines, the plaintiffs allege the carriers failed to train their pilots on helicopter routes near DCA, failed to adopt policies to reduce midair collision risk, and “manipulated and abused” the airport’s arrival rate system to pack more flights into each hour despite knowing it eroded safety margins.⁴⁵ They also allege American marketed PSA-operated flights under the “American Eagle” brand, leading passengers to expect mainline American safety standards. A PSA executive later confirmed to the NTSB that neither the airline’s manuals nor its DCA-specific guidance mentioned helicopter routes or military operations near the airport.⁶

Against the FAA, the complaints allege controllers failed to separate the two aircraft, failed to issue a safety alert to the jet crew, and that tower managers had improperly combined the controller positions for airline and helicopter traffic into a single workstation.⁴⁷⁸

Against the Army, the complaints allege the Black Hawk crew flew above the mandatory 200-foot ceiling for Helicopter Route 4, failed to account for commercial traffic approaching DCA, and operated with potentially inaccurate altimeters and inconsistent transponder signals.⁴

How the Cases Were Consolidated

Rachel Crafton, widow of passenger Casey Crafton, filed the first federal suit on September 24, 2025 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Case No. 1:25-cv-03382.⁴⁵ Three more cases followed within weeks. On October 14, 2025, Judge Reyes held an initial status conference and began folding later-filed cases into the Crafton docket; a 133-page master complaint covering all consolidated cases was submitted in early November.²

The consolidated matter is captioned In Re: Mid-Air Collision in Washington, D.C., Jan. 29, 2025. The cases are proceeding as individual wrongful death suits rather than a class action.⁹

On November 12, 2025, Judge Reyes established a Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee and appointed Brian Alexander of Kreindler & Kreindler, a former military pilot, as lead counsel. His firm represents 34 victims’ estates. Clifford Law and Speiser Krause were named co-chairs.¹⁰¹¹¹

What the Government Has Admitted

In a 209-page court filing on December 17, 2025, the United States took the unusual step of admitting partial responsibility: “The United States admits that it owed a duty of care to Plaintiffs, which it breached, thereby proximately causing the tragic accident on January 29, 2025.”¹² The government conceded that the Black Hawk pilots’ failure to see and avoid the jet was a proximate cause of the crash and that the tower controller failed to comply with FAA regulations on visual separation.¹³

The admission has limits. The government denied that the controllers’ actions were a “cause-in-fact” of the deaths, rejected the characterization of DCA airspace as “an accident waiting to happen,” and disputed that prior near-miss incidents required further analysis that would have prevented the collision.¹² The filing also alleged that pilots on both aircraft, including the American crew, failed to maintain adequate vigilance, which sets up a comparative-fault argument at trial.¹³

Robert Clifford, lead attorney for the Crafton family, called the filing an acknowledgment of “the Army’s responsibility for the needless loss of life” and “the FAA’s failure to follow air traffic control procedure.”¹³

Why the Airlines Are Still in the Case

American Airlines and PSA moved to dismiss, arguing that federal law gives the U.S. government exclusive authority over aviation safety and that the airlines had violated no federal standard. American separately argued it was a different company from PSA, with different manuals and training, and should not answer for a flight PSA operated.¹³¹⁴

Judge Reyes rejected those arguments on February 27, 2026. She wrote that the American Airlines brand ran through every part of the passenger experience, from ticketing and airport lounges to the aircraft livery, flight attendant uniforms, and baggage claim. “Any rational human would understand that all steps of the air travel process go through American Airlines,” she wrote, declining to dismiss any claims against either airline.¹⁴

Suing the Government Works Differently

Claims against the United States run on a separate track under the Federal Tort Claims Act. The FTCA waives sovereign immunity for the negligent acts of federal employees acting within the scope of their duties, but it adds procedure that private defendants do not impose.¹⁵

Before suing, a claimant must file a Standard Form 95 with the responsible agency. The agency has six months to accept, deny, or settle. If it does none of those, the claimant can sue in federal district court. Clifford Law filed $250 million in administrative claims against the FAA and the Army as early as February 18, 2025, less than three weeks after the crash, and the Crafton suit followed only after the agencies failed to act within the six-month window.¹⁵⁴

One consequence matters at trial. FTCA claims against the government are tried to a judge, not a jury. The claims against American and PSA carry the right to a jury. Judge Reyes will therefore hear the government case and preside over the jury trial of the airline claims in the same consolidated proceeding.⁹

Where Things Stand

As of early 2026, all three defendants remain in the case. The government has admitted a breach of duty while contesting the scope of its fault and shifting some blame to the pilots. American Airlines and PSA Airlines face continued exposure after losing their motions to dismiss. The Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee under Brian Alexander is coordinating discovery, with trial set for April 12, 2027.¹¹⁴

If You Are a Family Member of a Victim

Families who have not yet filed should know that the two-track structure means timing matters differently for different defendants. Claims against the government begin with an administrative Form 95 to the FAA and the Army and a six-month agency clock before a federal suit becomes available.¹⁵¹⁰² The judge’s standing orders on public commentary apply to all participants, so counsel will typically caution clients about media statements while the case moves toward trial.¹¹

1
CourtListener. Crafton v. American Airlines Inc. Docket
2
Legal News Line. Law Firm Signs Half of American Airlines D.C. Crash Victims
3
NTSB. NTSB Press Release on Midair Collision Investigation
4
Washington Post. Crafton v. American Airlines Complaint
5
CNN. Midair Collision Lawsuit
6
CNN. NTSB Final Day Collision Hearing
7
KWCH. Day 2 Flight 5342 Hearings Examine Air Traffic Controller Training
8
Politico. DC Plane Crash Safety Warnings
9
ABC News. Federal Lawsuit Filed DC Plane Crash
10
Kreindler & Kreindler. PSA Airlines Blackhawk Helicopter Collision Reagan Washington National Airport
11
Law360. Feds Admit Role in DC Air Crash, Judge Reiterates Gag Order
12
ABC News. Army FAA Admit Failures Deadly Mid-Air Crash
13
NBC News. US Government Admits Errors Deadly Midair Collision DC
14
Local News Live. Judge Declines Dismiss American Airlines DCA Crash Lawsuit
15
Clifford Law Offices. Clifford Law Files Pre-Case Claims Against Federal Government in Aviation Crash