Family of DC Midair Collision Victim Sues Army, FAA, Airlines Over ‘Wholly Avoidable Tragedy’

Rachel Crafton, the surviving spouse of Casey Crafton who perished in the crash on Jan. 29, filed the lawsuit in federal court.

The U.S. Coast Guard investigates aircraft wreckage after a midair collision over the Potomac River near Washington, on Jan. 30, 2025. Brandon Giles/ U.S. Coast Guard via Getty Images

The family of one of the victims of the deadly midair collision over the Potomac River in Washington earlier in 2025 filed a lawsuit on Sept. 24 against the U.S. government, the airline, and its subsidiary.

Rachel Crafton, the surviving spouse of Casey Crafton—who was killed in the crash between an Army Black Hawk helicopter and a CRJ700 near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) on Jan. 29—filed the lawsuit in federal court on Sept. 24.

Describing the crash as a “wholly avoidable tragedy” that claimed 67 lives, the lawsuit’s named defendants are American Airlines, its subsidiary PSA Airlines—which was operating the CRJ700—and the federal government “for the acts and omissions of the Federal Aviation Administration and United States Army.”

The suit alleges that the airlines “manipulated and abused” the arrival rate system at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport to “force in more of their arrivals per hour ... despite its knowledge that doing so severely limited the margins for safety.”

The U.S. Army is faulted for its flight crew not operating “the Blackhawk helicopter at or below the mandatory altitude,” and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for its air traffic controllers failing to “separate aircraft in airspace and issue Safety Alerts when aircraft are in an unsafe proximity to one another,” the lawsuit states.

According to the complaint, American Airlines, PSA Airlines, the U.S. Army, and the FAA “utterly failed in their responsibilities to the traveling public.”

“The crash of American Eagle-5342 was predictable. It was preventable and caused the needless loss of 67 lives on that fateful evening,” Robert Clifford, Rachel Crafton’s attorney, said in a press conference on Sept. 24.

Clifford said the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) investigation into the crash, which included a three-day fact-finding hearing ending on Aug. 1, is “not as wide in scope as is necessary for the families to fully understand what American [Airlines] knew, when they knew it, and what they could have done to prevent it.”

“It is known that American [Airlines] had the ability because of their notice of near misses, a massive number of near misses, that they nevertheless allowed their customers to be exposed to the dangers associated with those near misses,” Clifford said.

“Even though they sought additional gates, they sought additional landings and takeoffs, and they did everything possible to maximize their ability to shuttle passengers in and out of that airport.”

American Airlines told The Epoch Times that “Flight 5342 was on a routine approach to DCA when the Army helicopter—that was above the published helicopter route altitude—collided with it.”

“The American and PSA families continue to mourn the lives lost in the tragic accident involving Flight 5342,” the airline said in a statement.

“Our priority since Jan. 29 has been supporting the families and loved ones of our passengers and crew members, including immediately deploying our CARE Team the night of the accident and establishing the Office of Continued Care and Outreach a week later.

“This longer-term support continues today.

“We continue to support the ongoing NTSB investigation and will defend American and PSA Airlines against any legal action claiming the airline caused or contributed to this accident.”

The FAA told The Epoch Times, “Our hearts go out to the families who lost loved ones on that tragic January evening.”

“Since the accident, [Transportation] Secretary [Sean] Duffy and the FAA have acted decisively to make the skies over our nation’s capital safer,” the agency said.

“We will continue to work closely with the NTSB to ensure no family has to suffer this pain again.”

The Army did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.

Dailey Crafton, the brother of Casey Crafton, shared written remarks from Rachel Crafton at the Sept. 24 press conference.

“The future we dreamed about was taken away from us. Casey was a devoted father and husband, and we built a beautiful life together,” she wrote.

“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.

“Because of systemic failures and reckless disregard for safety, his life—along with 66 others—was taken. Casey was betrayed by the system he trusted. We all were. As his wife, I cannot stand by and allow his life to be lost in vain.”

Casey Crafton was on American Eagle flight 5342 when the Army Black Hawk helicopter collided with it over the Potomac River on Jan. 29.

The NTSB has not yet determined the probable cause for the collision, but has faulted both the FAA and the Army in its preliminary reports in the ongoing investigation.

In its three-day fact-finding hearing, the NTSB also said American Airlines had been increasing the number of its flights during specific times within the hour, a practice known as “front loading” and “back loading.”

At the time, Clifford told The Epoch Times that the airline was trying to maximize arrival rates and hourly operations at Reagan National Airport to allegedly “help drive its profits.”

American Airlines did not respond to a request for comment following the three-day hearing.