Wife of Casey Crafton, One of 67 Killed, Files Claims Worth $250 Million

The US Army and Federal Aviation Administration are facing their first legal disputes regarding a mid-air collision in DC that killed 67 people. The claims, filed by the family of Casey Crafton, are worth $250 million and allege the agencies of negligence.

The accident occurred at around 9:00 pm on January 29. An American Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 was on final approach to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) when a US Army Black Hawk helicopter crashed into its side, sending both aircraft plummeting into the Potomac River. All 64 occupants of the airliner and the three in the helicopter were killed in the collision.

40-year-old Casey Crafton, a husband, father of three sons, and employee of an aviation consulting firm, was returning from a business trip on the American Eagle flight. His wife of sixteen years, Rachel, filed two federal forms on February 18 alleging that negligence and failures of the FAA and US Army contributed to the fatal crash.

The filing included two claims for a total of $250 million. They included one worth $50 million for personal injury and another for $200 million citing wrongful death. Under the Federal Tort Claims Act, the government has six months to respond before Rachel can proceed with federal lawsuits.

“I expect they’ll ignore this entirely and never respond, which is therefore a denial, or they’ll wait until five months and 29 days to deny it, because they never accept it and confess error,” commented the family’s attorney, Robert Clifford of Clifford Law -- who also stands to profit from this tragedy.

The claims raise questions about all factors leading up to the crash, even though the NTSB is far from reaching a conclusion. They argue that the helicopter pilots did not properly address directions from air traffic control to maintain separation from the airliner and that the American Eagle pilots failed to react to traffic collision alerts. They also reference the short-staffed control tower and crowded airspace.

"Something went wrong here," pontificated Tracy Brammeier, a partner at Clifford Law. "There are probably a lot of entities who knew about potential problems but didn’t act to prevent them. The purpose is to get answers for the family." (and, again, a big payday -- E.I.C)

FMI: www.faa.gov, www.army.mil