The family of a man killed in January’s midair collision over Washington, D.C., has filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit against the U.S. government and the two airlines involved.
Lawyers representing Rachel Crafton, the widow of Casey Crafton, filed a complaint with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Wednesday, with the U.S. government, American Airlines, and PSA Airlines named as plaintiffs.
PSA operated the American Airlines passenger jet involved in the crash under the American Eagle brand.
The lawsuit said Crafton’s initial administrative claims were delivered directly to the FAA and the U.S. Army, which owned and operated the Black Hawk helicopter that collided with Flight 5342.
A total of 67 people on both aircraft were killed. There were no survivors.
The 115-page complaint alleges that each of the plaintiffs, through their negligence, contributed to the collision.
American was aware of the many “near misses” at and around Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (KDCA) where Flight 5342 was set to land, the lawsuit stated, but took no action to protect its flights and instead strained the air traffic control (ATC) system by scheduling arrivals at peak times. The airline allegedly brushed off warnings from pilots unions about the risks associated with complex approaches at the airport.
PSA was criticized for failing to train its pilots on how to handle the helicopter traffic around Washington.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs also said the pilots of Flight 5342 should have spotted the Black Hawk but were likely “preoccupied with reconfiguring the aircraft’s instrumentation, last-minute landing checks, and working to catch up on procedures for the circling approach to Runway 33.”
The lawsuit accuses FAA air traffic controllers of neglecting their responsibility to keep aircraft properly separated and instead prioritizing takeoffs and landings at Washington National. The controllers should have warned the two aircraft about each other and raised an alert but did not, the complaint said.
The Army was faulted for allowing the Black Hawk to fly above its altitude limit, equipping its flight crews with inaccurate barometric altimeters, excluding commercial air traffic from its risk assessments, and letting its helicopters operate without ADS-B Out switched on.
Family Speaks Out
Members of the Crafton family, their attorneys, and relatives of other crash victims held a press conference in Washington on Wednesday to announce the lawsuit.
Dailey Crafton, the brother of Casey Crafton, read a statement on behalf of Rachel Crafton.
“The future we dreamed about has been taken away from us,” he said. “Because of this avoidable tragedy, my young sons and I have to go through life without the love, support, guidance, and laughter Casey gave to us on a daily basis. I’m left to raise our sons alone, and these days, weeks, and months have been unbearable as grief weighs heavily over every moment that should have been a celebration with Casey.”
Doug Lane, who lost his wife, Christine, and son Spencer on Flight 5324, appeared in support of the Craftons.
“We’ve secured much-needed oversight investigations into the FAA, and we will not rest until similar investigations are underway into the U.S. Army,” Lane said of ongoing work by victims’ families. “We will bring that same level of passion and relentlessness as we seek accountability and change through the legal process.”
While addressing reporters, attorney Robert Clifford of Clifford Law Offices in Chicago, who represents Rachel Crafton, acknowledged that bringing up potential error on the part of the PSA pilots will be controversial but said there is evidence to support that claim.
“I know it is tough for some people to hear, but I assure you that all the lawyers associated with this case have consulted with experts of the highest caliber, integrity, and credibility who do in fact have things to say about the performance of the pilots that night that could have prevented this disaster,” Clifford said.
Clifford noted that the courts typically encourage plaintiffs in related civil cases to join their lawsuits together. The complaint filed this week, he said, will serve as the “guiding complaint for the rest of the families to follow.”
The lawsuit did not disclose how much the plaintiffs are seeking in damages. The family is requesting a trial by jury.
