{"id":2522643,"date":"2025-12-18T09:50:02","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T14:50:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/government-admits-fault-in-dca-crash-unnecessary-tragedy\/"},"modified":"2025-12-18T09:52:33","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T14:52:33","slug":"government-admits-fault-in-dca-crash-unnecessary-tragedy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/government-admits-fault-in-dca-crash-unnecessary-tragedy\/","title":{"rendered":"Government admits fault in DCA crash: \u2018Unnecessary tragedy\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fgovernment-admits-fault-in-dca-crash-unnecessary-tragedy%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2522643&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The U.S. government has admitted liability for a fatal collision that occurred in January 2025 near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport involving an Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines commercial plane. The accident, described as a &#8220;wholly avoidable tragedy,&#8221; resulted in the deaths of all 67 people aboard both aircraft. Government filings revealed that the helicopter crew failed to see and avoid the approaching commercial jet, while <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/search-and-rescue-teams-at-site-of-indonesian-plane-crash\/\" title=\"Search and rescue teams at site of Indonesian plane crash\">air traffic controllers<\/a> at the airport also contributed by not maintaining proper visual separation and failing to alert the jet about the helicopter&#8217;s presence. The Justice Department acknowledged breaching its duty of care, leading to the accident. Investigations criticized irregular staffing and procedural violations at the airport,prompting tighter air traffic control <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nursing-homes-may-undergo-changes-under-new-biden-rule\/\" title=\"Biden&#039;s rule may bring changes to nursing homes.\">staffing rules<\/a>. The crash also highlighted known issues with the black Hawk helicopter&#8217;s altimeter. Lawsuits have been filed by victims&#8217; families, and parties involved, including American Airlines, have responded with motions to dismiss some claims.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Government admits fault in Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport crash: &lsquo;Wholly avoidable tragedy&rsquo;<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2108919\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>The federal government admitted liability for the deadly <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/aviation\/\">plane<\/a> collision in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/washington-dc\/\">Washington, D.C.<\/a>, earlier this year, conceding military personnel and government air traffic controllers contributed to the disaster.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&#8203;&#8203;In the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.dcd.285225\/gov.uscourts.dcd.285225.53.0.pdf\">209-page filing<\/a> in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the Justice Department wrote that the United States &ldquo;admits that it owed a duty of care to Plaintiffs, which it breached, thereby proximately causing the tragic accident on January 29, 2025.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/investigations\/3919851\/millions-potentially-illegal-contributions-flooded-politics-2025\/\">Millions in possibly illegal contributions have flooded politics this year<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/investigations\/3924581\/lawyers-no-kings-protest-shooting-victim-accuse-left-wing-organizers-obstruction\/\">Lawyers for &lsquo;No Kings&rsquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >protest shooting victim accuse left-wing organizers<\/a> of obstruction<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/investigations\/3918139\/what-we-know-turtle-island-liberation-front-charged-terrorist-plot\/\">What we know about the Turtle Island Liberation Front charged in terrorist plot<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p><span style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;\">The January collision between an A<\/span>rmy Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines commercial plane occurred near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, marking the&nbsp;deadliest plane crash&nbsp;on American soil in more than two decades. The government filing described it as a &ldquo;wholly avoidable tragedy&rdquo; that resulted in the deaths of all 67 people on board the two aircraft, which plunged into the Potomac River.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Government lawyers this week admitted that the three-person crew of the Black Hawk helicopter <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3393163\/potomac-plane-crash-pilot-air-traffic-controller-error\/\">failed to see and avoid<\/a> the American Airlines jet approaching the airport&rsquo;s runway.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The helicopter pilots &ldquo;failed to maintain vigilance so as to see and avoid other aircraft and their failure was a cause-infact and proximate cause of the accident,&rdquo; the filing states.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Reagan National Airport failed to alert the jet of the approaching helicopter, court filings added.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Government lawyers identified an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-federal-investigators-reveal-likely-reason-for-helicopter-crash-that-killed-kobe-bryant\/\" title=\"BREAKING: Federal Investigators Reveal Likely Reason For Helicopter Crash That Killed Kobe Bryant\">air traffic controller<\/a> in the DCA tower as partially to blame, arguing the controller &ldquo;negligently violated&rdquo; a Federal Aviation Administration order by &ldquo;failing to follow the procedures for visual separation&rdquo; between the helicopter and passenger jet.<\/p>\n<p>The court filings on Wednesday mark the Justice Department&rsquo;s response to the first lawsuit filed by one of the victims&rsquo; families. Casey Crafton&rsquo;s widow, Rachel, alleged the U.S. government, American Airlines, and PSA Airlines, which operated Flight 5342, failed to see warning signs after more than 30 near-collisions in the area of DCA.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>American Airlines and PSA Airlines have filed motions to dismiss the claims targeting them. <\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/infrastructure\/3344187\/potomac-plane-crash-ntsb-investigation-safety-changes\/\"><strong>POTOMAC PLANE CRASH INVESTIGATORS RECOMMEND &lsquo;URGENT&rsquo; SAFETY CHANGES AFTER FINDING DOZENS OF CLOSE CALLS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The National Transportation Safety Board considered irregular staffing on the night of the crash to be a contributing factor. As a result, staffing rules at the airport <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/travel\/3340600\/reagan-airport-changes-air-traffic-control-staffing-potomac-plane-crash\/\">have been tightened<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Only one air traffic controller was responsible for managing plane and helicopter traffic at the time of the crash in January. The responsibilities <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/infrastructure\/3344187\/potomac-plane-crash-ntsb-investigation-safety-changes\/\">were combined <\/a>an hour earlier in a practice called an &ldquo;early shove,&rdquo; which is used when air traffic is light.<\/p>\n<p>During a debate this summer, the NTSB also criticized the Army&rsquo;s failure to issue a broader advisory about the challenges faced by Black Hawk helicopters. There were known issues with the Lima model Black Hawk&rsquo;s barometric altimeter, which resulted in measurements varying between 70 and 100 feet.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Government accepts blame for Reagan National Airport crash<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3142,"featured_media":2522644,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Potomac-plane-crash.webp?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[49603,60282,5045,69017,35975],"class_list":["post-2522643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-accident-investigation","tag-dca-crash","tag-government","tag-official-apology","tag-public-safety"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Potomac-plane-crash.webp?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2522643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3142"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2522643"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2522643\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2522647,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2522643\/revisions\/2522647"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2522644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2522643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2522643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2522643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}