OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
2:58 PM – Wednesday, February 19, 2025
The family of one passenger who lost his life in the airborne crash close to Washington, D.C., has sued the U.S. Army and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)—requesting $250 million in damages for each case.
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All 64 people on board the American Airlines passenger flight and three service members in the Blackhawk helicopter perished in the nation’s deadliest aviation mishap in the last 20 years on January 29th.
“This was a disaster waiting to happen, and it just so happened that particular night. Everything came together to create this preventable tragedy,” stated Robert Clifford, a lawyer representing the family of Casey Crafton. “We want to get to the bottom of it, and this gets us going.”
Crafton had been traveling back to his home in Salem, Connecticut, where he resided with his wife Rachel and their three young sons, on a small plane operated by American Airlines. After completing his studies in aviation management at Bob Jones University, Crafton worked as a technical support manager for an aviation consultancy company.
“Casey was an incredible human being. He was a giver. He was a loving husband and father. He enjoyed coaching his boys on their youth soccer and little league baseball teams. They will be grieving him for the rest of their lives that will never be the same,” Clifford said.
In order to pursue claims against the Army and the FAA under the Federal Tort Claims Act, Clifford Law Offices submitted two filings on Tuesday, requesting $250 million for each claim. All claims were submitted on behalf of Casey’s wife, Rachel Crafton.
The $250 million figure, according to Clifford, is a ceiling for the claim that was made “out of an abundance of caution.”
“You can always go down, you cannot go up. And if you look at, you know, wrongful death claims across the country, it’s not unheard of to have a number that high,” he told ABC News. “You’re talking about a father of three children and a loving wife. It’s a substantial claim.”
The wife has also created a sort of GoFundMe, but for food and other expenses, for herself and her three boys — on a platform called Meal Train.
According to the firm’s news release, it has not filed claims against American Airlines, PSA Airlines, Sikorsky Aircraft, or Collins Aerospace, despite sending preservation letters to each of them while they await further details regarding the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) investigation.
Nevertheless, an “investigation into potential claims of willful neglect” by airlines operating in the area near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, the scene of the tragedy, has been launched, according to Clifford Law.
The reason of the collision has not yet been determined by the NTSB, which is in charge of the inquiry.
The tragedy was highly “preventable,” according to Clifford, who also accused the airlines operating flights into and out of Washington, D.C., of not taking “sufficient precautions to protect its passengers.”
Each entity has six months from the date of the pre-case claim against the FAA and Army to reply; if no answer is received or if the claims are denied, Clifford Law may pursue legal action in federal court.
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