The U.S. government has admitted failures by pilots and an air traffic controller at Reagan National Airport that led to the deadly mid-air crash over the Potomac River in January that claimed the lives of 67 people, according to a new court filing.
The attorneys’ admission to the Justice Department was filed Wednesday in response to a civil lawsuit filed by the family of a passenger who died on an American Airlines flight from Wichita on Jan. 29.
The regional jet and Black Hawk helicopter crashed into the icy Potomac River after colliding in midair, launching an overnight search and rescue mission, with no survivors found.
Sixty-four people were on the plane and three Army soldiers were aboard the helicopter, which was on a training flight at the time, authorities said.
A large portion of the damaged plane’s fuselage is lifted from the Potomac River during recovery efforts after the American Airlines crash, Feb. 3, 2025, in Arlington, Virginia.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
“As detailed herein, Defendants’ collective failures caused the mid-air collision that resulted in the tragic and senseless deaths of 67 people,” the filing says. “Prior to and on the night of the mid-air collision, 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 airspace in the vicinity of Washington DC’s Reagan National Airport (“DCA”) presented certain safety risks, specifically including the possibility of a mid-air collision.”
The filing says that among the factors known to the military was that there had been “a substantial number of ‘near misses’ in and around DCA, which needed to be analyzed to ensure that a midair collision did not occur and required defendants to exercise vigilance when operating and/or controlling aircraft in the vicinity of DCA.”
“Because the defendants did not collectively analyze the data and information at their disposal, and because they did not operate and/or control aircraft with the highest degree of safety, this mid-air collision was, tragically, an accident waiting to happen,” the government said.
“The United States admits that it owed a duty of care to the plaintiffs, which it breached,” the government added.
The attorney for one of the plaintiffs in the case, Rachel Crafton, said in a statement: “These families remain deeply saddened and rooted in the pain caused by this tragic loss of life.”
“We continue Investigate this matter to ensure that all guilty parties are held accountable and we look forward to additional findings from the NTSB in a timely manner. January 26 hearing on this matter in Washington, DC,” said attorney Robert A. Clifford.
The NTSB is expected to release its final report with probable cause and recommendations before the anniversary of the accident on January 29, 2026.
