Plaintiffs have filed additional wrongful-death complaints against American Airlines and the federal government following the Jan. 29 crash between a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and American Eagle Flight 5342 that killed 67 victims in the airspace of Washington, D.C. U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes of the District of Columbia set a jury trial for April 2027 to determine whether any of the defendants are liable for claims of negligence if pretrial settlements are not reached. A plaintiffs’ steering committee is litigating the consolidated cases and includes lead counsel Brian J. Alexander of Kreindler & Kreindler; committee co-chairs Robert A. Clifford of Clifford Law Offices and Douglas A. Latto of Speiser Krause; plus Williams & Connolly partner Dane Butswinkas, among other committee members. William Gould, a partner at Holland & Knight’s Washington and Northern Virginia offices, represents co-defendants American Airlines Inc. and PSA Airlines Inc., while U.S. Department of Justice senior aviation counsel Debra D. Fowler represents the government. Plaintiff Jin Zhou filed three complaints Monday seeking damages on behalf of the estates of his deceased nephew Edward Zhou, brother Yu Zhou and sister-in-law Kaiyan Mao for the alleged negligence of the Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. Army and airline defendants. “[T]he FAA denied Plaintiff’s [administrative] claims on November 10, 2025, on behalf of both the FAA and United States Army,” according to a short-form complaint Kreindler & Kreindler filed Monday on behalf of grieving plaintiff Jin Zhou. “Plaintiff requests all available wrongful death and survival economic and noneconomic damages in an amount according to proof at trial.” Two of the 67 victims killed in the tragic aircraft incident include Wilkinson Stekloff associates Sarah Lee Best and Elizabeth Keys. Plaintiff Rachel Crafton filed the first wrongful-death lawsuit against the airliner and government defendants Sept. 24 on behalf of the estate of her deceased husband Casey Crafton, who died in the crash above the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Butswinkas of Williams & Connolly filed a complaint Sept. 26 as co-counsel for plaintiff Matthew Cully, whose father Thomas P. Cully died as a passenger on board AE 5342. “The parties have discussed the possibility of settlement, and Plaintiffs and the United States are prepared to engage in settlement discussions in individual cases as sufficient damages information is received,” according to a joint report the parties filed in November. “The Airline Defendants, however, do not agree to participate in settlement discussions until after motions to dismiss are ruled upon.” Spokespersons for the defendants and lead counsel for the plaintiffs’ steering committee did not immediately respond to requests for comment. This action was surfaced by Law.com Radar, which delivers real-time alerting on new litigation across more than 2,900 state and federal courts. Click here to get started and be first to act on opportunities in your region, practice area or client sector. Law.com Radar