Clifford Law Offices has filed the first wrongful death lawsuit arising from the January 29, 2025, midair collision between American Eagle Flight 5342 and a U.S. Army helicopter near DCA airport in Washington, D.C, on behalf of the family of Casey Crafton. The tragic and avoidable incident claimed 67 lives.
Aviation attorney Robert A. Clifford, founder and senior partner of Clifford Law Offices, announced the Crafton family’s lawsuit at a press conference in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, September 24, 2025. The $250 million claim filed against American Airlines, the parent company of American Eagle, PSA Airlines, and the U.S. government, alleges negligence in operations, training, and the failure to address known dangerous conditions in the crowded airspace around Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
“The crash of American Eagle 5342 was predictable, preventable, and caused the needless loss of 67 lives… American ran red lights for years by allowing these planes to operate in congested, unsafe conditions.”
Clifford, one of the nation’s leading aviation attorneys who currently serves as lead counsel in the ongoing litigation in federal district court in Chicago over the 2019 Boeing 737 Max8 crash in Ethiopia, emphasized both the profound loss suffered by the Crafton family and the broader mission of ensuring aviation safety through accountability. “[The Crafton family] will ultimately be seeking to make sure that a disaster like this never occurs again, either here in Washington or anywhere in America,” he stated.
Tracy A. Brammeier, partner at Clifford Law Offices and a recognized member of the firm’s aviation practice group, spoke to Fox News in Washington, highlighting the need for transparency and justice in the aftermath of the tragedy:
“In any of these cases, there’s always just this need for answers and for accountability. So who knew what? And why didn’t they take action to prevent something like this? How do we force accountability to prevent something like this from happening again?”
Wednesday’s press conference marked the beginning of what is expected to be a series of lawsuits aimed at uncovering systemic failures and driving policy change to protect the flying public. It is expected that the families of the other victims, from around the world, will join the lawsuit following a mandatory six-month notice period required by federal law. Clifford shared that the Craftons’ claim, which requests a jury trial rather than proceeding before a federal judge as is typical in claims against the government, will serve as the “guiding complaint for the rest of the families to follow.”
The lawsuit was filed in cooperation with law firms Kreindler & Kreindler and Speiser Krause, in a showing of unity by all of Flight 5342 passengers’ families.
Watch the full press conference here.