US EditionUS Government Admits Fault in Mid-Air Plane Crash That Killed 67
The U.S. government admitted negligence by FAA, Army pilots, and an air traffic controller in the crash that killed all 67 aboard a passenger jet and military helicopter.
- On January 29, 2025, the United States Department of Justice admitted liability in a civil filing after a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter struck an American Eagle regional jet, killing 67 people in the Potomac River.
- Court documents say defendants failed to analyze a substantial number of near-miss events in and around DCA, while NTSB public hearings flagged cultural issues in the Army's 12th Aviation Battalion and altimeter problems.
- Federal filings single out an air traffic controller in the Reagan National tower who did not comply with FAA procedures and gave a muffled warning, while DOJ lawyers say the Black Hawk crew's use of NVG distracted them and breached visual separation procedures.
- The DOJ filing is part of a civil suit by the family of a passenger on American Eagle flight 5342, while American Airlines and PSA Airlines seek dismissal and attorney Robert A. Clifford says families await the January 26 NTSB hearing.
- DOJ's admission came as the independent National Transportation Safety Board probe continues, with a final report and probable cause expected by Jan. 29, 2026, after tightened Reagan National Airport safety protocols.
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167 Articles
U.S. Government Admits Role in Plane Crash That Killed Group of Figure Skaters
The United States government has announced that it believes the actions of air traffic controllers and Army helicopter pilots played a role in the plane crash that killed 67 people, including 14 elite young figure skaters, near Washington, D.C. in January. The accident occurred when American Eagle Flight 5342 collided with a Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River shortly before 9 p.m. on January 29. It was the deadliest plane crash on Amer…
US government admits liability in fatal Washington helicopter-plane crash
The US Justice Department said late on Wednesday the federal government was liable in the fatal January 29 collision of an Army Black Hawk helicopter and American Airlines regional jet that killed 67 people near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. It was the deadliest plane crash on American soil in more than two decades. The government admitted it “owed a duty of care to plaintiffs, which it breached, thereby proximately causing the trag…
US admits failures in deadly mid-air crash at DC's Reagan National Airport
A large portion of the damaged plane fuselage is lifted from the Potomac River during recovery efforts after the American Airlines crash, Feb. 3, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) (WASHINGTON) — The U.S. government admitted some failures and accepted liability for its role in the deadly Jan. 29 mid-air crash over the Potomac River between a commercial jet and an Army helicopter, according to a filing in a civil suit, but pu…
The US government recognises its responsibility for the January air collision near Washington airport, 67 dead. The US government takes responsibility for the 67 deaths in Washington, Romania, for the first time.
The government admitted on Wednesday that the Federal Aviation Administration and the Army played a role in causing the collision last January between a passenger plane and a Black Hawk helicopter near the country’s capital, killing 67 people. The official response to the first lawsuit filed by one of the victims’ families said the government is partly responsible for the accident because the air controller violated the procedures that night. Ho…
The process concluded that "the failure to keep the guard to see and avoid" the commercial aircraft involved in the accident by the military helicopter pilots makes the Administration responsible.
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