NTSB starts three-day hearing Wednesday to examine causes of January mid-air collision of commercial jet and military helicopter

Aviation attorneys at Clifford Law Offices and some of their clients who lost loved ones in the midair crash of a commercial jet and a military helicopter earlier this year will be attending a three-day hearing at the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) headquarters in Washington, D.C this week. The five-member Board appointed by the President will delve into the causes of this tragic accident in its examination of a number of witnesses.

“These families are entitled to further answers after six months of waiting and hopefully some of them will come from this investigative hearing,” said Robert A. Clifford, founder and senior partner of Clifford Law Offices who represents numerous clients in the Jan. 29 crash. He also is Lead Counsel in the 2019 Boeing crash in Ethiopia that currently is before U.S. District Court Judge Jorge Alonso in Chicago.

On Feb. 18, 2025, Clifford Law Offices filed pre-case claims against the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the U.S. Army involving the Jan. 29 midair crash of American Airlines Flight 5342 with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter, killing all 67 on board both aircraft. The claims were filed on behalf of the widow and children of Casey Crafton, 40, of Connecticut.  He died as a result of the collision, leaving behind his wife and three young sons.  Casey’s brother, Dailey, will be in attendance at the hearing and available to speak to the press.

Clifford Law Offices filed a government-issued “Form 95” that is required to present claims against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) for property damage, personal injury or wrongful death allegedly caused by a federal employee’s negligence or wrongful act occurring within the scope of the employee’s federal employment. The $250 million claims are directed against multiple governmental agencies that may be responsible for this crash. The NTSB has reported that staffing in the tower of air traffic controllers (ATC) was “not normal” at the time of the nighttime collision and that there were communication lapses between the ATC and the aircraft.  The Black Hawk helicopter in the collision was operated by the Army and was manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. 

The government has six months to act upon the claims, and, if rejected or not acted upon by Aug. 26, plaintiffs have the right in the next two years to file lawsuits in federal district court that would be heard by a judge. Clifford Law Offices intends to file such claims next month. Jury trials are not allowed in civil wrongful death actions against the government.  The notice of a claim against the FAA was filed at the regional FAA offices in Des Plaines, Illinois.  A pre-case Form 95 claim also was filed against the U.S. Army at its Fort Meade, Maryland, offices in this matter. 

Clifford also sent preservation letters to American Airlines and its regional carrier, PSA, as well as Sikorsky Aircraft, to preserve all evidence in the Jan. 29 midair crash of the two aircraft. Clifford Law Offices also initiated its own investigation into potential claims of willful neglect by the airlines for the many years of congestion of commercial aircraft and helicopters that went ignored in the air space near Reagan National Airport.

Source: NTSB