Gov't Makes Stunning Admission Regarding Blame for Deadly Black Hawk-Jet Mid-Air Collision That Killed 67
By Teri Christoph | 11:15 AM on December 18, 2025
It's been nearly a year since a U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter collided with a passenger jet on approach to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, which resulted in both aircraft plummeting into the icy Potomac River below. The January 29, 2025, crash killed 67 people – 64 on the American Airlines flight and three Army personnel on the Black Hawk – and the first lawsuit related to the disaster is making its way through the courts.
Rachel Crafton, the widow of American Airlines flight 5342 (AE5342) passenger Casey Crafton, is suing the airline and the U.S. government over her husband's "senseless and tragic" death. In a Wednesday filing, the government admitted it failed in its "duty of care" to the commercial passengers, writing that the Army helicopter pilots had failed "to maintain vigilance so as to see and avoid AE5342."
From the filing:
... the United States admits that the [Black Hawk] and AE5342 pilots failed to maintain vigilance so as to see and avoid each other; the DCA local controller did not comply with ¶ 7-2-1(a)(2)(d) of FAA Order JO 7110.65AA, chg. 3, Air Traffic Control (Sept. 5, 2024); and because of the [Black Hawk] pilots’ failure to maintain vigilance so as to see and avoid AE5342, the United States is liable to a Plaintiff who is legally eligible to recover certain monetary damages, as permitted by the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), 28 U.S.C. §§ 1346(b), 2671–80, in an amount yet to be determined and apportioned among other tortfeasors.
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https://redstate.com/terichristoph/2025/12/18/govt-makes-stunning-admission-regarding-blame-for-deadly-black-hawk-jet-mid-air-collision-that-killed-67-n2197247
