U.S. admits liability in Army helicopter collision with American Airlines jet that killed 67 people
(EDITORS NOTE: Image contains graphic content) In this U.S. Coast Guard handout, the Coast Guard investigates aircraft wreckage on the Potomac River on Jan. 30, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Handout | Getty Images News | Getty Images
The United States government admitted liability in the deadly collision between an Army Black Hawk helicopter and an arriving American Airlines regional jet over the Potomac River that killed all 67 people aboard the two aircraft.
“The United States admits that it owed a duty of care to Plaintiffs, which it breached, thereby proximately causing the tragic accident on January 29, 2025,” the Justice Department said in a court filing on Wednesday.
The Jan. 29 crash was the worst air disaster in the U.S. since 2001 and prompted restrictions on helicopter flights around Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, where the airspace is one of the most congested in the country.
American Airlines, which is also a named defendant in the lawsuit brought by the family of one of the crash victims, didn’t immediately comment.
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