The U.S. government admitted it was liable in thedeadly collisioninvolving a military helicopter and a passenger jet thatkilled 67 peoplenear Washington, D.C., earlier this year, according to court documents filed on Dec. 17.
The government's admission is part of awrongful death lawsuitfiled by thewidow of Casey Crafton, one of the victims killed in the crash, in September. The lawsuit blamed the government, American Airlines, and its regional partner, PSA Airlines, for their roles in the Jan. 29 midair collision.
In a 209-page court filing, the government said it is among the defendants liable for the damages from the crash. The filing states that the U.S. Army flight crew failed to adequately operate the helicopter and that Federal Aviation Administration air traffic controllers "failed in their two most important priorities, namely to separate aircraft in airspace and issue safety alerts when aircraft are in an unsafe proximity to one another."
"(The) Defendants' collective failures caused the mid-air collision that resulted in the senseless and tragic deaths of 67 individuals," the filing, reviewed by USA TODAY, states.
"Prior to, and on the night of the mid-air collision, the Defendants knew, or should have known, that AE5342 was transiting one of the busiest airspaces in the United States, and they knew, or should have known, that the airport approaches, and the airspace in the vicinity of Washington D.C.'s Reagan National Airport ("DCA"), presented certain safety risks, specifically including the possibility of a mid-air collision," the filing continued.
DC plane crash:Mapping the flight paths that put jet and helicopter on collision course
American Airlines Flight 5342 was about to land at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on the evening of Jan. 29 when it collided with an Army Black Hawk Helicopter, which had been conducting a routine training mission.
Both aircraft plummeted into the Potomac River below,killing 64 peopleon board the plane and three people on the helicopter. The crash victims included members of the U.S. figure skating community and their families who were returning from a competition in Wichita, Kansas.
The collision was the first fatalcrash of a commercial planein the U.S. since 2009, and raised concerns over the country's aging air traffic control system andaviation safety.
What does the wrongful death lawsuit claim?
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Sept. 24, claimed that the airlines involved in the crash should have known the risks of flying into the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. The airport had previously been considered one of the most dangerous in the country due to the high volume of military air traffic in the area.
"The defendants were required to exercise vigilance when operating and/or controlling aircraft in the vicinity of Reagan National Airport. These defendants, however, utterly failed in their responsibilities to the traveling public," the lawsuit states.
Students, Olympic skaters, and more:A tribute to lives lost in the DC plane crash
The complaint further alleges that the airlines "manipulated and abused" the arrival rate system at the airport "to force in more of their arrivals per hour at the airport despite its knowledge that doing so severely limited the margins for safety."
The lawsuit also claimed that the Army flight crew failed to operate the helicopter at or below the mandatory altitude, and that the FAA's air traffic controllers failed to separate aircraft in the airspace and issue safety alerts when aircraft were in an unsafe proximity.
At the time of the incident, the Army helicopter was flying above maximum altitude levels and not broadcasting an automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast system, also known as ADS-B.
National Transportation Safety Board investigating collision
Apreliminary reportfrom the National Transportation Safety Board suggested that thousands of close calls involving helicopters and commercial airplanes occurred in the same area near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport from 2021 to 2024.
The NTSB's investigation into the crash remains ongoing. Since the incident, the agency has held a series ofhearingson the matter.
In maps and graphics:See what happened in DC plane crash with helicopter
Following the collision, the FAA has established procedures to restrict mixed traffic of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft near the airport, and has eliminated the use of visual separation within 5 miles of the airport, among other measures.
In May, the FAA barred the Army from helicopter flights around the Pentagon after another close call that forced two civilian planes to abort landings.
Contributing: Michelle Del Rey, Jeanine Santucci, Zach Wichter, and Christopher Cann, USA TODAY; Reuters
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:US admits to failures in fatal DC plane crash: Court documents
