The family of one of the plane crash victims in last month's collision between an American Airlines flight and an Army helicopter took the first steps on Tuesday toward suing the federal government.

The fatal crash on Jan. 29 at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, outside of Washington, D.C., killed all 67 people on board both aircraft, including three people on the helicopter. The plane carried 60 passengers, and four crew members. The passengers included children and families returning from an ice skating camp.

The family of American Airline passenger Casey Crafton filed two legal claims against the federal government, in what appears to be the first legal action over the disaster. Each claims seek $250 million in compensation.

“I don’t know who caused this crash, but I know the passengers sure didn’t, and the families are entitled to answers,” Robert Clifford, an attorney representing the family, told the New York Times. “This was preventable.”

The claims were filed on behalf of Crafton's wife and their three sons. It is being filed under the Federal Tort Claims Act, which allows private citizens to seek compensation from the federal government for deaths, personal injury or property damage.

Crafton, who is from Connecticut, was on his way home from a business trip in Wichita at the time of the crash.

The first legal claim was made against the Federal Aviation Administration, and the second was against the Army because of the helicopter. If the federal government fails to respond to the claims within six months, a formal lawsuit can be filed.

Clifford said he has also asked the several companies to preserve evidence related to the crash, including American Airlines and Sikorsky Aircraft, which made the helicopter.

Planes and military helicopters at times fly in the same Reagan airspace.  

“We think that the airlines knew of all these near misses, that they knew that there were these potential dangers, and under the law as the common carrier, American and PSA had the highest duty of care,” Clifford said.

The cause of the crash has not been identified so far, and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is still investigating the incident. The NTSB said last week that it is looking into whether the helicopter missed instructions from air traffic control.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.