Our firm is investigating the tragic Washington, DC air collision incident that occurred on January 29, 2025 in which many passengers of American Eagle Flight 5342 lost their lives. Our lead attorneys are barred in Federal Court in Washington, DC where they have obtained over $1 billion in judgments.

Based on the preliminary evidence, several factors suggest negligence. Guidance from the control tower, which is public and we can provide to interested parties, is problematic. Multiple aircraft at the same elevation suggests improper planning and execution. It has been suggested that the Blackhawk pilot was flying to too high of an elevation for the location at the time of the incident. While legally nuanced, claims against the US government for negligence fall under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). Since the incident occurred over the Potomac River, which is within the boundaries of the District of Columbia, jurisdiction for any legal claims would likely fall within federal courts in D.C. The choice of D.C. as the jurisdiction is significant because, unlike neighboring states Virginia and Maryland, D.C. does not have caps on damages for wrongful death.
CCTV footage of the collision was captured at Reagan National and many other surveillance/CCTV cameras:
Below are excerpts of audio from the flight tower:
The Blackhawk (Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk (00-26860, PAT25) was reportedly engaged in COGS. The Bombardier commercial jet was flying from Wichita, KS to Reagan National. Below is a photo of the actual CRJ701 involved in the incident, taken in 2022.

Identity of a subset of the deceased, from publicly released by the media:
Samuel Lilley – 28-year-old First Officer on American Airlines Flight 5342
Jonathan J. Campos – 34-year-old Captain of American Airlines Flight 5342
Evgenia Shishkova – Russian figure skating coach
Vadim Naumov – Russian figure skating coach
Spencer Lane – 16-year-old figure skater from Rhode Island
Christine Lane – Mother of Spencer Lane
Jinna Han – 13-year-old figure skater from Mansfield, Massachusetts
Jin Han – Mother of Jinna Han
Alexandr Kirsanov – Figure skating coach
Tara O’Hara – Georgia
Ian Epstein – 53-year-old flight attendant for American Airlines
Asra Hussain Raza – 26-year-old consultant from Washington, D.C.
Olivia Ter – 12-year-old figure skater from Maryland
Sean Kay – Young skater accompanying coach Alexandr Kirsanov
Angela Yang – Young skater accompanying coach Alexandr Kirsanov
Gabrielle Beyer – 12-year-old skater from Virginia
Justyna Magdalena Beyer – Mother of Gabrielle Beyer
Ryan O’Hara – U.S. Army soldier on the Black Hawk helicopter, from Georgia
If you lost a loved in this tragic accident, please reach out to us. This tragic accident was avoidable and should not have occurred. Attorneys Jeremy McKenzie and Paul Hart are barred in the Federal Court of Washington, DC and have obtained multiple judgments there in the amount of ten of millions of dollars per plaintiff. Please call 912-335-4977 or email claims@kmtrial.com .