Aviation Litigators
Rapoport Weisberg Sims & VanOverloop, P.C. has been representing aircraft disaster victims and their families for nearly four decades.
We have been involved in nearly every major commercial aviation crash since the 1980s, investigating and prosecuting cases against the biggest in the aviation industry, including Air Traffic Controllers, the United States Army, airlines such as American Airlines, manufacturers such as Boeing and McDonnell Douglas, and avionics manufacturers such as Raytheon, amongst many others.
Our history of aviation litigation includes handling midair collisions involving failures of Air Traffic Controllers and with issues regarding Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) and Traffic Collision Avoidance Systems (TCAS). We are one of the few aviation firms that have experience prosecuting Air Traffic Controllers and the United States Army in a case involving an Army helicopter that caused the crash of a civilian aircraft. When the combined efforts of aviators, air traffic controllers, and avionics are working properly, air disasters should never happen.
Founding partner David Rapoport and aviation partner Matthew Sims are well-known on the national stage for their expertise in handling high-profile aviation cases, where they are often called upon to lead groups of victims’ lawyers in prosecuting the cases.
David Rapoport is the founding partner of Rapoport Weisberg Sims & VanOverloop P.C. With more than 44 years of trial practice and 36 years of commercial air disaster experience, he has represented passengers, pilots, flight attendants, and their families in the courts throughout the United States. Mr. Rapoport has served on the court appointed Steering Committees in five major air disaster lawsuits, including Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, EgyptAir Flight 990, American Airlines Flight 1420, Swissair Flight 111, and USAir Flight 1016, where he was also the lead trial attorney.
Matthew Sims is an aviation partner at Rapoport Weisberg Sims & VanOverloop P.C. His practice is limited to representing individuals and families in catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death matters.
Mr. Sims is the Chair of the Aviation Section of the American Association for Justice and has been involved in major aviation litigation, including the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee in Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, and US Airways Flight 1702, where he served as one of the lead counsel.
Mr. Sims has a history of earning record-setting jury verdicts in settlements in a wide variety of cases.
In addition to advocating on behalf of families, he is a published author and lecturer on matters of aviation safety, including topics covering cockpit voice recorders (CVRs), aviation product liability, and jurisdictional questions.
Significant Commercial Aviation Experience
- United Airlines Flight 811 in 1989
- United Airlines Flight 232 in 1989
- United Airlines Flight 585 in 1991
- US Air Flight 405 in 1992
- American Eagle Flight 3379 in 1994
- US Air Flight 1016 in 1994
- United Express Flight 5925 in 1996
- SwissAir Flight 111 in 1998
- American Airlines Flight 1420 in 1999
- EgyptAir Flight 990 in 1999
- Big Island Airlines Flight 57 in 2000
- American Airlines Flight 587 in 2001
- US Airways Express Flight 5481 in 2003
- Delta Connection Flight 5191 in 2006
- Dana Air Flight 992 in 2012
- US Airways Flight 1702 in 2014
- Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in 2019
- Ketchikan Midair Collision – 2019
- Kenai Midair Collision – 2020
- Alaska Air Flight 1282 – 2024
Our cases have involved all types of aircraft, including commercial, corporate and recreational airplanes. We have a remarkable record of accomplishment in aviation accident cases and have obtained record-setting compensation for our clients.
2025 Washington D.C. Potomac River Midair Collision
On January 29, 2025, American Eagle Flight 5342 collided midair with a United States Army UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter. There were no survivors.
The Aircraft: American Eagle Flight 5342
American Eagle Flight 5342 was a regularly scheduled domestic flight being operated by PSA Airlines of Dayton, Ohio, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of American Airlines. The flight originated in Wichita, Kansas with its intended final destination at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
The CRJ700 was originally released by Bombardier with its maiden flight in 1999, and entering commercial service in 2002. The twin-engine Bombardier CRJ700 is a regional jet typically used for short and medium haul flights. It is crewed by a Captain and First Officer. Over 900 variants of this aircraft have been sold and put into service since its release.
This particular aircraft (N709PS), was originally manufactured in 2004. The call sign for this flight was “Blue Streak 5342”. The American flight was carrying 60 passengers and had four crew members: Captain Jonathan Campos, First Officer Samuel Lilley, Flight Attendant Ian Epstein, and Flight Attendant Danasia Elder. This was the first ever fatal accident involving a CRJ700.
The Aircraft: PAT 25
The helicopter involved in the midair collision was a United States Army UH-60L Black Hawk (Reg. No. 00-26860), operated by the 12th Aviation Battalion, Company B, and typically responsible for VIP transportation in the Washington D.C. area. Its call sign was “PAT 25”, indicating a “Priority Air Transport” flight. According to the United States Army, PAT 25 was performing a training mission originating at Davison Army Airfield in Fort Belvoir, Virginia when it collided with American 5342.
It is highly likely the crew of PAT 25 was wearing night vision goggles (NVGs) during the training flight. According to the FAA, while night vision goggles “can better manage risk during night operations”, they also “affect depth perception and limit peripheral vision.”
What Happened
American 5342 has originally been directed to land at Runway 1, but was redirected to change its approach to land at Runway 33. The below ADS-B track shows American 5342 at 800 feet and a speed of 144 knots, after having already changed its heading to the northeast after having been redirected to land on Runway 33.
Less than 30 seconds before the collision, an air traffic controller asked PAT 25 whether it had Flight 5342 in sight. PAT 25 confirmed it had made visual contact and requested “visual separation” from American 5342 – meaning PAT 25 was required to visually acquire and maintain separation from the aircraft on its own – which was approved by the controller. Visual Separation is governed by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Order J0 711.065 (Air Traffic Control).
As American 5342 approached the airport, it made a left banking turn to line up with Runway 33. A left banking turn would have it made it more difficult for the American 5342 crew to visualize any traffic to their right, which is where PAT 25 was located.
Moments later, with American 5342 lined up on the approach for Runway 33, the air traffic controller instructed PAT 25 to pass behind American 5342. Unfortunately, initial reports seem to indicate that PAT 25 was flying outside the designated helicopter route and above its required 200 ft. ceiling. The two aircraft collided over the Potomac River at an altitude well-above the 200 ft. ceiling limitation for PAT 25.
Partial ATC Transcript
Approximately 04:00 prior to collision
American 5342:Tower, Blue Streak 5342 on Mount Vernon Visual Runway 1.
Tower Controller: Blue Streak 5342, Washington Tower, winds are 320/17G25 can you take Runway 33?
[30 second pause]American 5342: Yeah, we can do Runway 33 for Blue Streak 5342.
Tower Controller: Blue Streak 5342 [unintelligible] bridge, make the turn for 33, cleared to land 33.American 5342: Change to Runway 33, cleared to land 33, Blue Streak 5342.
* * *
Approximately 02:30 prior to collision
PAT 25: PAT 25, memorial.
Tower Controller: PAT 25, roger.
Approximately -01:20 to collision
Tower Controller: PAT 25 traffic just south of [unintelligible] bridge is a CRJ at 1,200 feet turning for Runway 33.
PAT25: PAT 25 has the traffic in sight, request visual separation.
Tower Controller: Visual separation approved.
* * *
Approximately 00:10 prior to collision
Tower Controller: PAT 25 do you have the CRJ in sight?
Tower Controller: PAT 25 pass behind the CRJ.
PAT 25: Affirm. PAT 25 has traffic in sight, request visual separation.
Tower Controller: Separation.
Washington D.C. Helicopter Routes
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has established helicopter routes throughout Washington D.C. which apply to both civilian and military helicopters. The route that PAT 25 was attempting to follow appears to be “Route 1”. This Route required the helicopter to fly below the maximum ceiling of 200 ft. along the route that passed by Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Route 1 is both described and depicted in the FAA Baltimore-Washington Helicopter Route Chart, below:
The FAA Helicopter Chart Route, showing “Route 1” as it passed by Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, is highlighted in red, and shows the markings that the maximum helicopter altitude was 200 ft.
Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS)
American 5342 was equipped with TCAS, which is a Traffic Collision Avoidance System. TCAS monitors the airspace for other aircraft transmitting on responders in order to warn pilots of the presence of other aircraft. While TCAS can provide aural Resolution Advisories (RAs) (e.g. “Climb, climb”) to pilots in order to prompt collision avoidance maneuvers, TCAS will not provide RAs below 1,000 ft., limiting TCAS to an aural warning of “Traffic” and a visual indicator in the cockpit displays. As shown in the ADS-B plot of American 5342, the CRJ700 was already below 1000’ before making the left banking turn towards Runway 33, making it highly unlikely that the TCAS system would have issued any Resolution Advisory (RA) immediately before the crash.
What Will Happen Next: NTSB Investigation
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will lead the investigation into the tragic midair collision. The NTSB will be assisted by the FAA, aircraft manufacturers, the United States Army, in addition to other federal and local resources. Key components from the crash will include the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder (FDR) from American Flight 5342, and the combined CVR/FDR recorder in the Army Black Hawk. CVR and FDR data are centrally important in aviation investigations.
Because this is a major aviation disaster, the NTSB investigation will be thorough, but not rushed. The NTSB will likely issue a preliminary report within weeks of the crash, to be followed by a release of substantial investigative data, likely between 9–18 months later. The final report released by the NTSB will be a “Probable Cause” report, which can take as long as 2–3 years to be issued.
The Role of Aviation Attorneys
The nature and legal consequences of wrongful conduct should be publicly known. Nevertheless, air disaster litigation has long been shrouded in secrecy.
While the NTSB publicly investigates air disasters, determines probable causes and makes safety recommendations, many pertinent facts are still often first discovered in adversarial pretrial discovery in air disaster litigation. This is in part because the NTSB “does not determine liability, nor does it attempt to do so.” In other words, at NTSB hearings, questions directed to issues of fault and liability are not even permitted. Accordingly, NTSB hearing officers are required to state at the outset of public hearings: “This inquiry is not being held to determine the rights or liability of private parties, and matters dealing with such rights or liability will be excluded from these proceedings.”
Most aviation disasters are entirely preventable. The role of qualified aviation attorneys is to independently investigate the legal causes of an accident to assist in determining fault and liability in an aviation disaster, and to then hold the responsible parties civilly accountable for the accident. Aviation attorneys should be qualified based on their experience handling major aviation disaster litigation. Families involved in the Washington Midair Collision would be well-served by seeking out attorneys who have experience prosecuting aviation crashes involving both air traffic controllers and military aircraft, and which resulted in the crash of a civilian aircraft, as well as attorneys who have significant midair collision experience.
Families should also be weary of attorneys claiming aviation credentials who lack the requisite experience. In order to provide families with the time to properly vet aviation attorneys, federal law prohibits protects families involved in air disasters during the immediate aftermath of a disaster by prohibiting unsolicited communications by attorneys (or their agents) to those families for a period of 45 days. 49 U.S.C. 1136(g).