Government Admits to Breaching ‘Duty of Care’ Ahead of the Mid-Air

The US government admitted that it is partially responsible for the January 29, 2025, mid-air collision near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), citing failures by both the US Army and air traffic control. The crash, involving an Army Black Hawk and American Eagle Flight 5342, killed all 67 people aboard and marked the deadliest US aviation accident since 2001.

The 209-page report, submitted to the US District Court for the District of Columbia, explained that the US “owed a duty of care to Plaintiffs, which it breached, thereby proximately causing the tragic accident.” Filings of this sort are typically less direct while National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigations are underway, but with the pressure of a lawsuit brought by the family of one of the passengers, US officials decided that owning up now was the best path forward.

According to the government’s writing, the Army helicopter crew, operating under the callsign PAT25, failed to maintain proper and safe visual separation from the inbound American Eagle regional jet. Just moments before the crash, the helicopter pilots had told controllers they would maintain visual separation as the passenger aircraft approached Runway 33. Whether due to confusion, neglect, stress, or any other factor, the filing confirmed that this instruction was not fulfilled.

The Justice Department also placed part of the blame on air traffic control at DCA. It alleges that a controller in the tower violated FAA procedures by failing to properly manage and ensure visual separation between the helicopter and the jet. Others have tied this to overworking rather than efficiency issues since a single controller was reportedly handling helicopter traffic as well as arrivals and departures.

The document adds that both the Army and air traffic control “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 the airspace in the vicinity of Washington D.C.’s Reagan National Airport (“DCA”), presented certain safety risks”. The DOT points to the troubles of mixing military training with commercial traffic in one of the busiest and most constrained airspaces in the country.

To clarify, the government’s admission does NOT replace the NTSB’s findings. Investigations as complex and weighted as this may take several years to finish, though a typical final report comes within 2 years, depending on case load and other factors.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov