The widow of one of the 67 victims who died in a January plane crash between a passenger jet and a Black Hawk helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is suing the airlines and the federal government over their “collective failures” to prevent the mid-air collision.
The federal lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Washington, D.C., marks the first action seeking to hold American Airlines, its regional partner PSA Airlines, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the Army liable for the tragedy.
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Rachel Crafton, who was married to Casey Crafton, brought the lawsuit. The husband was on the American Airlines flight that collided with the Army helicopter and dropped into the Potomac River.
“Nearly eight months ago, our lives were shattered in a moment, and the grief has been unimaginable. The future we dreamed about was taken away from us,” the victim’s brother, Dailey Crafton, said.
Sixty-four people were on the domestic flight from Kansas to D.C., and three were aboard the military helicopter.
The lawsuit accuses the defendants of systemic failures and negligent practices, which caused or contributed to the fatal accident. The plaintiffs say the two airlines were able to monitor “near misses and near collision events in the airspace” above Reagan National Airport before the crash, adding they “should have monitored and analyzed the data, which would have revealed the unreasonable and unacceptable risk to flight safety during certain operations and circumstances.”
The airlines maintained that they were not at fault and indicated they would fight the allegations in court.
“Flight 5342 was on a routine approach to DCA (Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport) when the Army helicopter — that was above the published helicopter route altitude — collided with it,” American Airlines and PSA Airlines said in a joint statement. “American has a strong track record of putting the safety of our customers and team members above everything else.”
Over the summer, a three-day National Transportation Safety Board hearing revealed that the helicopter involved in the crash likely misreported its altitude by more than 100 feet — an issue the Army has known about for years. The testimony also raised awareness of understaffing in air traffic control towers and coordination challenges with military aircraft in the crowded D.C. airspace.
After the crash, the FAA banned certain helicopter routes, including the one where the crash occurred, and otherwise imposed significant restrictions on pilots to improve aviation safety around Reagan National Airport.
The NTSB’s final report on the factors that led to the mid-air collision is expected to be released in early 2026. In the meantime, the Crafton family hopes to find answers and hold the defendants that the lawsuit holds responsible for the deadly crash accountable.
More lawsuits led by the deceased victims’ families are expected to be filed over the incident.