The family’s attorneys issued a notice to the corporate aviation agency to maintain all evidence in preparation for a potential case.
The families of passengers killed in an airborne collision near Washington, D.C. filed a $250 million request on February 18 against the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the US military each.
Casey Clafton, 40, of Salem, Connecticut, was one of 67 people when he collided with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter on January 29th on the Potomac River near Reagan National Airport.
Robert A. Clifford, founder and senior partner of the Clifford Law Office, filed a request for a pre-case on behalf of Rachel, a widow of Clafton, and the couple’s three young sons.
The claim alleges negligence on behalf of federal employees for potential air traffic control issues, particularly the US military for the operation of FAA and military helicopters. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reports that air traffic control tower staffing was “unnormal” at the time of the collision, and that communication was lost between air traffic control and the aircraft.
Clifford Law Offices also sent the conservation letter to American Airlines, local airline PSA, Sikorsky Aircraft, and Collins Aerospace to hold all evidence related to the crash.
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The company says it is taking a cautious approach to bringing the lawsuit, and is awaiting the release of a preliminary NTSB report.
In the press release, the legal process for claims against the government is different from typical civil proceedings, but the government has been acting on the claim for six months. If rejected or not acting, the plaintiff has the right to file a lawsuit in the federal district court within the next two years. Such cases will be heard by judges as civil unfair death actions against the government are not permitted to trial trial.
Clifford, who also serves as the lead counsel in a pending lawsuit against Boeing for the 2019 Ethiopian Airline crash involving 737 Max 8, said the latest crash is complicated and the families of the affected people were He said it deserves the answer.
“This crash involves complicated issues and families deserve an answer as to what happened to their loved ones,” he said.
The law firm is also investigating potential claims of intentional negligence by airlines related to the long-standing issue of traffic jams between commercial aircraft and helicopters in the airspace near Reagan National Airport.
“It has been known for some time that there is a major crowding issue between commercial and military aircraft at that airport.”
Rachel Clafton, Casey Clafton and their three sons. Courtesy of Crafton Family, via Clifford Law Offices
Clafton, who studied aviation management at Bob Jones University, has returned from a business trip in Wichita, Kansas. There, I worked as a technical support manager for Guardian Jet, an aviation consulting company.
The FFA and the US Army issued a statement in media enquiries regarding the claims, saying they could not comment on potential lawsuits.
