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D.C. Plane Crash: What Legal Remedies May Be Available?

Category: ArticlesWrongful Death Tags: FAAFTCAHelicopterNTSBPlane CrashReagan National Airportwrongful death
DC Plane Crash Article
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On the night of January 29, 2025, one of the most devastating plane crashes in U.S. history took place in Washington, D.C. That evening, a Bombardier CRJ700 plane (American Airlines flight 5342), transporting four crew members and 60 passengers, was flying northbound over the Potomac River and preparing to land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) on runway 33.[1] As the plane approached the airport, three soldiers aboard a U.S. Army Sikorsky H-60 Black Hawk helicopter were engaged in a training exercise in nearby airspace.[2] The two aircraft collided in mid-air, causing an explosion that sent both aircraft and all passengers into the Potomac River.[3] Now, the tragedy has left the families and friends of 67 people without their loved ones and desperately looking for answers, making the crash the deadliest U.S. aircraft disaster since 2001.[4]

After the initial horror of the crash abates, the attention will and must turn to practical considerations, such as the lost financial support, love, and guidance of the deceased passengers. Unfortunately, even the best legal system in the world can only provide monetary damages to those left behind.

1. The Crash Investigation

Although the D.C. plane crash occurred just a few days ago, the internet is full of many speculative “theories” about the cause(s) of the crash. As wrongful death attorneys that handle plane and helicopter crash cases, we can attest to the fact that aviation crash investigations can be complex and lengthy.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent federal agency that is required by law to investigate nearly every aircraft accident in the U.S.[5] 49 U.S.C. § 831.20(a)(3)(i) is particularly applicable to the D.C. plane crash, which authorizes the NTSB and military authorities to jointly investigate “each accident involving a military aircraft and . . . a civil aircraft.” That’s why the NTSB and the Department of Defense are jointly investigating the crash.

However, the NTSB and military authorities are not the only players involved in the D.C. plane crash investigation. The NTSB has indicated that approximately 35 governmental agencies have already been involved in the investigation.[6] In addition to all of these governmental entities, the NTSB also commonly invites the aircraft manufacturers and system companies to provide subject matter expertise in plane crash investigations. Unfortunately, the family members of the victims have no seat at the table and are unable to send their own experts. In this case, the list of third party subject matter experts could be quite long. The sheer number of entities involved demonstrates the complexity of these investigations.

The NTSB has its own Black Hawk certified pilot to help with its independent investigation of the D.C. plane crash.[7] The NTSB has recovered two separate recorders (black boxes) from the CRJ700: (1) a flight data recorder (FDR), and (2) a cockpit voice recorder.[8] The NTSB expects to obtain a full download from the CRJ700’s FDR, which could house up to 2,000 data points.[9] The CRJ700’s cockpit voice recorder had some water intrusion, but the NTSB has a “very high level of confidence” that they will recover the data.[10] The NTSB has also recovered a combined cockpit voice recorder and digital flight data recorder from the Sikorsky H-60.[11] There was no exterior damage to the Sikorsky’s recorder. These black boxes recovered by the NTSB will likely provide significant additional insight into the cause(s) of the crash. What were the pilots saying and doing in the final minutes and seconds of the crash? Did any systems malfunction?

The NTSB’s investigator in charge, Bruce Banning, released the following information after analyzing the CRJ700’s cockpit recorder:

  • “Prior to initial descent, the crew briefed the arrival for the troups five arrival followed by an ILS approach to Runway 01 at DCA.”
  • 8:15 PM: “The aircraft left 37,000 feet for an initial descent” to Reagan National Airport.
  • 8:39:10 PM: “Potomac approach cleared the crew for the Mount Vernon visual Runway 01 approach.”
  • 8:43:06 PM: “The crew made initial contact with the DCA tower. The tower controller then asked if the crew could switch to Runway 33. After a brief discussion between the crew, they agreed to Runway 33.”
  • 8:45:27 PM: “The autopilot was disconnected.”
  • 8:46:01 PM: “A radio transmission from the tower was audible informing PAT 25 that traffic just south of the Wilson Bridge was a CRJ at 1,200 feet circling to Runway 33.”
  • 8:46:29 PM: “The crew received a 1,000 foot automated call out.”
  • 8:46:47 PM: “DCA tower cleared other jet traffic on Runway 01 for departure with no delay.”
  • 8:47:29 PM: “The crew received a 500 foot automated callout.”
  • 8:47:39 PM: “A radio transmission from the tower was audible, asking PAT 25 if the CRJ was in sight. One second later, the crew received an automated traffic advisory stating ‘traffic traffic.’”
  • 8:47:42 PM: “A radio transmission from the tower was audible, directing PAT 25 to pass behind the CRJ.”
  • 8:47:58 PM: “The crew had a verbal reaction and FDR data showed the airplane beginning to increase its pitch.”
  • 8:47:59 PM: “Sounds of impact were audible . . . followed by the end of the recording.”[12]

The NTSB generally releases a preliminary report within the first 30 days. But the preliminary report will likely not be definitive about the cause of the crash. For example, the NTSB’s seven page preliminary report about the February 9, 2024, plane crash in Naples, Florida, provided little information about the cause(s) of that crash.[13] The NTSB aims to complete an investigation within 12 to 24 months, at which time it will issue a more detailed probable cause determination and report.[14]

2. Potential Legal Remedies

The NTSB investigation may reveal several proximate causes of the crash. Often, human error and/or mechanical failures are the cause of plane and helicopter crashes. Obviously, the passengers of flight 5342 were completely innocent. If human error was a cause of the D.C. plane crash, then victims’ families will likely be able to pursue negligence claims against the at-fault parties.

To the extent that the airplane pilots and/or airline were at fault for the crash, the victims’ families may pursue negligence claims against them. These claims will be governed by D.C. tort law because that is where the crash occurred. The victims’ families will have a right to a jury trial for these claims. Under D.C. law, the legal representative of the decedent’s estate can bring both a wrongful death action and a survival action at the same time.[15] D.C. law provides that recoverable damages in a wrongful death action include “reasonable expenses of last illness and burial” as well as “pecuniary losses resulting from the loss of financial support the decedent could have been expected to provide his next of kin, [and] . . . the value of services the decedent would have provided, including e.g., loss of care, education, training, guidance and personal advice.”[16] In addition to the wrongful death action, the victims’ families may also bring a survival action for any conscious pain and suffering that the decedent suffered prior to his or her death.[17] Over 20 years ago, the D.C. Court of Appeals affirmed judgments for hundreds of thousands of dollars in survival actions where the decedents were only alive for a matter of seconds or minutes after an accident.[18] D.C. wrongful death actions must be filed within two years from the date of death,[19] whereas D.C. survival actions must be filed within three years from the date of injury.[20]

To the extent that the helicopter pilots, air traffic controller, U.S. Army, Federal Aviation Administration, and/or the federal government are at fault for the crash, the victims’ families may pursue negligence claims against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). This is because the helicopter pilots were employees of the federal government. Historically, the doctrine of sovereign immunity barred negligence claims against the United Sates for tortious acts by its employees. The FTCA statutorily authorizes victims’ families to sue the United States by specifically providing that the United States is liable “in the same manner and to the same extent as a private individual under like circumstances.”[21]

There are many differences between the FTCA and state/district law negligence claims. Unlike those claims, pre-judgment interest and punitive damages are not available under the FTCA.[22] Additionally, before a lawsuit can be initiated, notice of an FTCA claim must be presented to the appropriate federal agency and denied by the agency in writing.[23] The notice must be presented to the appropriate federal agency “within two years after such claim accrues.”[24] The notice is generally provided to the federal agency responsible via form 95. It is imperative that the notice form be completed with the assistance of an experienced attorney because the form requires the plaintiff to list a total amount for the claim, which cannot be increased at a later point in time, unless “the increased amount is based upon newly discovered evidence not reasonably discoverable at the time of presenting the claim to the federal agency, or upon allegation and proof of intervening facts, relating to the amount of the claim.”[25] Therefore, it is imperative that an experienced and qualified aviation attorney help identify all damages and their impact on survivors as soon as possible.

Any FTCA cases arising out of the D.C. plane crash must be filed in federal court because U.S. district courts have “exclusive jurisdiction of civil actions on claims against the United States, for money damages . . . for . . . personal injury or death caused by the negligent or wrongful act or omission of any employee of the Government while acting within the scope of his office or employment. . . .”[26] The FTCA claim will be forever barred unless it is filed “within six months after the date of mailing . . . of notice of final denial of the claim by the agency to which it was presented.”[27] The FTCA claims can only be filed in the federal judicial district either “where the plaintiff resides or wherein the act or omission complained of occurred.”[28] Like any common law negligence claims against non-government individuals and/or entities that may arise from the D.C. plane crash, D.C. substantive tort law will apply to the FTCA claims because “[u]nder the FTCA, courts are bound to apply the law of the state (or here, the district) where the accident occurred.”[29] Importantly, the victims’ families’ will not have a right to a jury trial for their FTCA claims because “any [FTCA] action against the United States . . . shall be tried by the court without a jury.”[30]

To the extent that a mechanical failure is determined to be a cause of the crash, then the families may have products liability claims against the manufacturer(s) and distributor(s) of the defective product(s). Products liability cases can take many forms, and claims of strict liability, negligence, and breach of warranty may be asserted. These claims will also be governed by D.C. law.

If a deceased passenger was traveling for work at the time of the crash, immediate financial support can be obtained through a potential combination of workers’ compensation death benefits and any employer-provided life insurance.

This situation will involve some of the most complex legal issues ever encountered in civil law. For example, who can pursue legal rights? What claims? When can they be made? How will they be made? Where will they be filed? Within what time limit must they be filed against which defendants?

3. Plane Crash Attorneys

Our firm has significant experience handling complex plane crash cases. Our team is headed by Matthew W. Broughton, Esq., who holds an Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) certificate, has over 5000 hours of flight time, has handled many cases involving aircraft disasters over the course of his 40-year career, and has actually landed numerous aircraft on runway 33 at DCA, utilizing both instrument and visual approaches. Our “Go Team” for plane crash cases consists of many experienced wrongful death attorneys, an in-house investigator who has investigated hundreds of accidents over the years, two in-house nurses, paralegals, and legal assistants.


[1] Joel Guinto and James FitzGerald, What We Know So Far About Washington DC Plane Crash, BBC (Jan. 31, 2025).
[2] Cybele Mayes-Osterman & Davis Winkie, Army Helicopter in DC Crash Was on ‘Routine’ Training Flight Carrying Night-Goggles, USA Today (Jan. 31, 2025).
[3] See Security Footage Shows New Angles of D.C. Crash, NBC News (Jan. 31, 2025).
[4] The Associated Press, Collision Between Helicopter and Plane Kills 67 in Nation’s Deadliest Air Disaster Since 2001, AP (Jan. 30, 2025).
[5] See 49 C.F.R. § 831.2(a); 49 C.F.R. § 831.20.
[6] See NTSB Media Briefing 2 – PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 & Sikorsky H-60 Military Helicopter Collision. The agencies and first responders involved include: the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department, Arlington County Fire and Rescue, Arlington County Emergency Management, Arlington Police, Alexandria City Fire, Alexandria Police, Virginia State Police, NCR Incident Management Team, the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, the Virginia Department of Transportation, Senator Warner’s Office, MWAA Fire and Rescue Team, MWAA Police, D.C. Fire and Rescue, Prince William Fire and Rescue, Montgomery Fire and Rescue, Prince George Fire and Rescue, Charles County Fire and Rescue, Baltimore Fire, Baltimore Police, Anne Arundel Fire Department, Maryland State Police, Maryland Natural Resource Police, Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, Federal Bureau of Investigations, Secret Service, Customs and Border Patrol, Park Police, U.S. Department of Defense, Naval District Washington, American Medical Response, and the U.S. Department of Labor.
[7] See NTSB Media Briefing 2 – PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 & Sikorsky H-60 Military Helicopter Collision.
[8] Id.
[9] Id.
[10] Id.
[11] Id.
[12] See Washington Plane Crash: Investigators Release Cockpit Recordings (Feb. 1, 2025).
[13] See Aviation Investigation Preliminary Report, NTSB (2024).
[14] The Investigative Process, NTSB (2025).
[15] See, e.g., District of Columbia v. Hawkins, 782 A.2d 293 (D.C. 2001).
[16] See id. at 303; D.C. Code § 16-2701(b);
[17] See D.C. Code § 12-101; Hawkins, 782 A.2d at 304-05.
[18] Hawkins, 782 A.2d at 304-05.
[19] D.C. Code § 16-2702.
[20] D.C. Code § 12-301(3).
[21] 28 U.S.C. § 2674.
[22] Id.
[23] 28 U.S.C. § 2675(a).
[24] 28 U.S.C. § 2401(b).
[25] 28 U.S.C. § 2675(b).
[26] 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b) (emphasis added).
[27] 28 U.S.C. § 2401(b).
[28] 28 U.S.C. § 1402(b).
[29] See Makarova v. United States, 201 F.3d 110, 114 (2d Cir. 2000) (citing Richards v. United States, 369 U.S. 1, 10-15 (1962)).
[30] 28 U.S.C. § 2402.

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These articles are provided for general informational purposes only and are marketing publications of Gentry Locke. They do not constitute legal advice or a legal opinion on any specific facts or circumstances. You are urged to consult your own lawyer concerning your situation and specific legal questions you may have.

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