The U.S. government this week acknowledged its culpability in the January midair collision between an American Airlines flight and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter that killed 67 people.
In response to a lawsuit filed by the family of one of the crash victims, an attorney with the Justice Department’s Civil Division admitted mistakes by the pilots of the Black Hawk and an FAA air traffic controller (ATC) overseeing Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (KDCA) contributed to the disaster.
“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, as specifically set forth below,” the filing states. “The United States admits that it, among other tortfeasors, is liable to a plaintiff who is legally eligible to recover monetary damages…”
Among the government’s concessions is that the flight crew of the Black Hawk was not operating the helicopter properly, and the ATC “did not comply” with FAA regulations.
The filing was somewhat unexpected, since investigators have not officially determined the cause or causes of the collision.
While acknowledging its liability, the government maintains that other parties contributed to the crash. It singled out American Airlines and PSA Airlines, which operated the flight under the American Eagle brand, for allegedly failing to train their crews on how to properly navigate traffic in the Washington, D.C., area.
The government also argued that ATCs at Washington Tower cannot be held liable because their actions were not the “cause-in-fact and a proximate cause of the accident and the death of decedent.”
American and PSA, which are also part of the lawsuit, are fighting the plaintiff’s claims and have not made the same admissions as the government.
New Rules
American Airlines Flight 5342 collided with the Army helicopter over the Potomac River in Washington as it was approaching Washington National. Preliminary reports from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found that the helicopter was flying above its authorized altitude and was not broadcasting its location at the time of the crash.
In response, the FAA has implemented new rules designed to keep civilian and military aircraft in and around D.C. separated. It also canceled certain helicopter routes that it considered potentially problematic.
A bill passed by the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, the ROTOR Act, would require all aircraft, civilian and military, to broadcast their position using ADS-B Out while operating over the capital city.
The NTSB is still investigating the incident.
