US President Donald Trump’s statements and his cabinet members acknowledging culpability could help families of the tragic Washington DC aircraft crash’s victims as they are set to pursue their claims against the government.
Following Wednesday’s tragedy near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport that killed 67 people, attorneys from the country’s leading aviation disaster business say they have already been approached by some families looking to file lawsuits
The company negotiated payouts for relatives of those died in the 2009 accident of a Continental Airlines flight in Buffalo, which claimed 50 lives. It was the country’s most significant aviation tragedy.
As the relatives of those killed in last week’s tragedy move forward, partners with NY-based Kreindler & Kreindler, stated that the high-profile comments made by Trump, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth might strengthen their arguments.
Justin Green, a partner at the company, told USA Today: “Duffy basically says: We’re not going to run away from it, we’ll own it, and the president has made statements about the Army helicopter pilot who messed up.”
It will be “interesting” to observe how this administration respond to any attempts to settle this matter, Green said, adding, “It’s within their power to direct claims be paid swiftly.”
Also Read: Shocking ‘conspiracy theory’ about Black Hawk chopper’s crash with plane is true as Army withholds pilot’s identity
Here’s what Trump and his Cabinet members said
Trump on Friday blamed the Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, for the disaster after it collided with the American Eagle regional passenger jet.
Helicopters are limited to 200 feet in order to avoid airplanes when flying close to Reagan.
“It was far above the 200 foot limit. That’s not really too complicated to understand, is it???” Trump asked in a Truth Social post.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth seemed to declare at the White House on Thursday that his department would accept accountability for the tragedy, saying, “no excuses, we’re going to get to the bottom of this.”
“Tragically, last night, a mistake was made… and there was some sort of an elevation issue we’re investigating at the DOD and Army level,” he added.
