The US Justice Department said late on Wednesday the federal government was liable in the fatal January 29 collision of an Army Black Hawk helicopter and American Airlines regional jet that killed 67 people near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
It was the deadliest plane crash on American soil in more than two decades.
The government admitted it “owed a duty of care to plaintiffs, which it breached, thereby proximately causing the tragic accident” and that the pilots of the Army helicopter and regional jet “failed to maintain vigilance so as to see and avoid each other”.
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The Justice Department said a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air traffic controller also did not comply with an FAA order and as a result of both agencies’ conduct, the United States was liable for damages.
The FAA declined to comment.
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Robert Clifford, a lawyer for the family of one of the victims of the crash that filed the suit, said the filing showed “the United States admits the Army’s responsibility for the needless loss of life in the crash … as well as the FAA’s failure to follow air traffic control procedure”.