Aviation

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….

WHAT: Families who lost loved ones aboard American Eagle Flight 5342, along with their attorneys, will hold a press conference to announce a lawsuit against American Airlines, PSA Airlines, and the U.S. government following the fatal January 29, 2025, mid-air collision of Flight 5342 that claimed 67 lives. WHO: Speakers Flight 5342 Family Members Rachel Crafton, wife of Casey Crafton Dailey Crafton, brother of Casey Crafton Doug Lane, husband of Christine Conrad Lane and father…

John V. Kalantzis, partner at Clifford Law Offices, authored an article for the August 2025 issue of PLI Chronicle: Insights and Perspectives for the Legal Community titled “Cleared for Resolution: ADR in Aviation Disputes.” Kalantzis discusses the complexities of resolving aviation cases through alternative dispute resolution (ADR), emphasizing the unique challenges related to jurisdiction, damages, and settlement strategies in intricate and high-stakes aviation matters. While Kalantzis stresses the importance of trial preparation for both attorneys…

Families who lost loved ones in the 2019 crashes of two Boeing 737 MAX8 jets told a federal judge in Fort Worth, Texas, this morning, Wednesday, September 3, 2025, that the new U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) non-prosecution agreement (NPA) it reached with the aircraft manufacturer was unjust and asked the court for accountability. The families and their lawyer, Paul Cassell, professor of the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah, told…

Robert A. Clifford, founder and senior partner at Clifford Law Offices and one of the nation’s top aviation and catastrophic injury lawyers, joined the Karen Conti Show on WGN Radio on September 1, 2025, to discuss airline safety, preventable crashes, and his decades of experience representing victims’ families after tragic incidents in Chicago, across the U.S., and around the world. From the Washington, D.C. crash involving an American Airlines regional jet and an Army helicopter…

Families who lost loved ones in the 2019 crash of a Boeing 737 MAX8 jet will be speaking to a federal judge in Fort Worth, Texas, in opposition to the new U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) non-prosecution agreement (NPA) it has reached with the aircraft manufacturer. The families intend to tell U.S. District Court Judge Reed O’Connor next Wednesday, September 3, 2025, that the new NPA violates the judicial review provisions of the federal rules…

Clifford Law Offices filed lawsuits on July 29, 2025, on behalf of the four flight attendants who suffered injuries when a Boeing aircraft’s door plug blew off the plane in mid-flight. The four complaints filed in King County Superior Court in Washington state allege that Boeing’s failure to ensure the aircraft was airworthy caused the crew to suffer both physical and psychological trauma. Each of the four attendants – Adam Fisher, Michelle Hughes, Steven Maller,…

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) continues its third day of hearings on Friday, August 1, 2025, swearing in the fourth panel of expert witnesses surrounding the events of the January 29 midair crash of a U.S. Army helicopter and an American Airlines regional jet. NTSB officials expect to hear from a fifth panel today that deals with collision avoidance technology. Later, the final panel will discuss safety data and safety management systems. The NTSB…

The second day of National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) hearings continued all day Thursday, July 31, 2025, with a panel of government and aviation experts answering questions regarding “Training, Guidance and Procedures Applicable to DCA (Reagan National Airport) Air Traffic Control.” Many family members who lost loved ones, as well as a team of aviation attorneys from Clifford Law Offices, were observers at the NTSB headquarters in Washington, D.C., as hundreds and hundreds of questions…