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Robert A. Clifford Discusses Role of Litigation and Prevention in DC Crash with Press

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Posted on January 31, 2025 To
Robert A. Clifford Discusses Role of Litigation and Prevention in DC Crash with Press

Following the tragic January 29, 2025, collision between an American Airlines jet and a U.S. military Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River, Robert A. Clifford, founder and senior partner at Clifford Law Offices, quickly became a leading voice in the media, highlighting the preventable nature of the disaster and stressing the crucial role litigation plays in holding corporations accountable and introducing necessary safety regulations. The firm’s work on high-profile cases, including the 2019 Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 disaster, has had a lasting impact on aviation safety.

Within hours of the collision of an American Airlines passenger jet and a U.S. military Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River on January 29, 2025, top aviation attorney Robert A. Clifford was interviewed by multiple media outlets to share insights on the potential causes of this preventable tragedy and to help the public understand the impact of such an event.

Clifford Law Offices has launched an independent investigation into the Reagan National Airport aviation disaster that took 67 lives. Using their more than 40 years of experience helping the families of victims of plane crashes, Clifford Law Offices is harnessing all their resources and expertise to support the victims’ loved ones during their darkest days. Our team ensures families access to resources when they need them most. Not only in the days immediately after their tragic loss but also in the weeks, months, and years going forward. Clifford Law Offices prides itself on its personal relationships with its clients and its dedication to them.

Litigation Promotes Action

Clifford said in an interview with Lisa Willis of Law.com, a trusted legal resource that covers prominent cases and trends in legal news, that litigation is the means of aviation disaster prevention. The potential legal aftermath brought by crash victims’ families can contribute to reshaping cautionary aviation policies.

“That’s one of the positives of litigation because, without it, there’s no penalty. When you eliminate punitive damages, it’s just a cost of doing business to pay off the families in litigation.”
-Robert A. Clifford on the impact of aviation litigation in Law.com

Clifford, founder and senior partner at Clifford Law Offices, serves as Lead Council in the pending litigation against Boeing in the 2019 crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, which killed all 157 on board across 35 countries and several continents. Throughout his 40-plus-year career as an aviation plaintiffs attorney, he has represented victims and their families in nearly every major commercial airline crash in the United States, as well as numerous small plane crashes around the country.

The Clifford Law Offices aviation team is known not only for its impressive legal representation and proven history of results but also for its drive to contribute significantly to numerous public safety improvements, including new guidelines and regulations that hold corporations and government entities accountable for harmful conduct.

  • As a result of the firm’s litigation work involving United Airlines Flight 232, which crash-landed in Sioux City, Iowa, after the catastrophic failure of its tail-mounted engine, the FAA issued Airworthiness Directives, mandating inspections on the fan blades of the General Electric CF6 engine. Modifications of the hydraulic systems on the DC-10 were also required to prevent total loss of hydraulic power in the event of a similar incident. The crash also led to the addition of redundant safety systems in all future aircraft and changed the way engine inspections are performed.
  • The litigation involves the crash of American Eagle Flight 4184, which was bound from Indianapolis to O’Hare International Airport. The plane suddenly rolled and plunged to the ground near Roselawn, Indiana. The National Transportation Safety Board urged tighter regulations on commuter aircraft flights in icing conditions.
  • When the second Boeing 737 MAX8 airplane crashed shortly after takeoff less than five months after a similar crash in the Java Sea, Clifford Law Offices quickly moved to the forefront of the litigation. Representing families of 68 of the passengers killed in Ethiopia, Robert A. Clifford was appointed lead counsel in the consolidated litigation filed in federal district court in Illinois. The families banded together, determined to make future passengers aware of the dangers that Boeing’s culture of concealment had hidden from government officials as well as the public. Families continued to press to keep the 737 MAX8 in the news until safety design changes were made. After 20 months, the longest grounding of a jetliner in the history of U.S. aviation, the plane was recertified to fly in the U.S., with the requirement of pilot training and mandatory changes to the aircraft.

As to the immediate and empathetic reaction from American Airlines CEO Robert Isom, Clifford questioned: “Do you think for one minute that the head of American Airlines would be so upfront and out there right now, but for what went on with [the lawsuits surrounding] Boeing’s [Dennis] Muilenburg?” He continued, “Boeing kind of had their heads in the sand until the media started its kicking around. The families went nuts. That’s the kind of nudge that you need at times.”

An Avoidable Tragedy

Clifford shared with Fox News and NBC Chicago that the congested air space surrounding the Reagan National Airport has come under scrutiny in the past, and the crash resulted in a “needless loss of life.”

“This is not the first air traffic safety incident at Reagan National Airport in the last year. The aviation community has been sounding the alarm on an increasing number of close calls since 2023.”
-Robert A. Clifford, founder and senior partner at Clifford Law Offices

“President Trump came out and talked about how preventable it was, that it should never have occurred, and that’s true,” Clifford told Fox News Digital. “Here in this particular airport in our nation’s capital, there’s an intersection and convergence all the time between civil and military aircraft.” He added that there are “very strict rules about how those aircraft should interact with each other,” and it appears “those rules may have been violated.”

“I can’t get over how stunningly clear it is that this was a preventable crash, and this should never, ever have occurred. There have been discussions for some time about the congestion associated with that and the potential for disaster. And we saw it come home last night.”
-Robert A. Clifford, in an interview with Heather Hollingsworth at the Associated Press.

He shared with Fox 32 reporters the existing communication concerns between aircraft and air traffic controllers and warned that passengers ultimately bear the risk of a system stretched too thin. “We don’t have proper equipment communications between the incoming aircraft and the helicopters, and of course, now we’ve got overworked ATC people in the local tower,” he said. Who is the victim of that? We are—we, the traveling public.”

Prioritize Investigations

“The families will want answers; the flying public deserves answers… There is much unknown now, but answers will become available as the black boxes have been retrieved,” Clifford stated as National Transportation Safety Board officials work to decipher the flight data recorders where answers to the cause of the mid-air crash may lie.

Internationally recognized for its comprehensive aviation litigation practices, Clifford Law Offices has access to the best possible resources to help clients achieve their desired goals while allowing the firm’s aviation team to thoroughly investigate aviation disasters to determine why they happened and who is responsible. This commitment to thorough investigation and litigation extends to the loved ones of the victims of the Reagan National Airport crash in their pursuit of answers and their fight for justice over what was so needlessly lost. Not only for their individual litigation and personal loss but also to help these families bring lasting change to prevent future tragedies and suffering.

On February 7, 2025, Clifford shared with Fox 5 DC that his firm is actively speaking with about a dozen families impacted by the deadly crash at Reagan National Airport. “I don’t think anyone would deny these innocents of their fair compensation,” Clifford said when asked about the likelihood of lawsuits. “The helicopter was above its authorized elevation, and it shouldn’t have been there.” Should families choose to pursue legal action, he shared they should anticipate their case to take years to resolve. “A case against the government involves a trial before a federal judge,” he explained. “You have to file a notice of claim with the government, and the government has six months to decide if they’re going to honor the claim or not.”

In order to conduct an exhaustive investigation, Clifford called for the U.S. government to suspend military activity in the airspace. “Given this situation and previous close calls, it is necessary for the FAA to immediately suspend all helicopter flights in the area of Reagan National Airport until this investigation is complete and any and all NTSB recommendations are acted upon. The risks obviously are too high, particularly at night or with instrument conditions, to continue this practice.”

The tragic and preventable collision over the Potomac River demonstrates the critical importance of legal accountability and proactive safety measures in aviation to affect industry policy changes. Robert Clifford’s message is clear: Aviation must learn from its past to prevent future disasters directly affecting the flying public.

To speak to Robert Clifford or for further comment, contact Clifford Law Offices Communications Partner Pamela Sakowicz at 847-721-0909 (cell) or pammenaker@cliffordlaw.com.

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Some of Robert Clifford’s News Clippings: