Santa Barbara Woman Seeking $200 Million in Damages for Brother’s Death in D.C. Plane Crash

Seven months after an American Airlines flight collided with a U.S. Army helicopter near Washington, D.C., killing everyone on board, a victim’s bereaved family has formally filed a government tort claim seeking $200 million in damages. 

Kristen Miller-Zahn, a Santa Barbara resident and sister of victim Dustin Miller, originally contacted the Independent in March to share her brother’s story after retaining a Santa Barbara law firm to sue the U.S. Army and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) over his death.

“Dustin was a light in this world. He cherished his family and gave of himself endlessly to others. He wasn’t just a brother, a son — he was the kind of person who made everyone feel seen, safe, and loved. And now he’s gone,” Miller-Zahn said. “He was taken from us, as were 66 others, in a disaster that should never have happened. We are devastated. We are forever changed. And we are not alone.”

On the night of January 29, Dustin Miller’s flight was about to touch down at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) in Arlington, Virginia, while a three-person crew was conducting a training mission aboard an Army Black Hawk helicopter nearby. The two aircraft collided around 8 p.m. and fell into pieces in the Potomac River. It was the country’s deadliest aviation accident in decades.

Miller’s family argues that the tragic crash, and the deaths of the 67 victims, were avoidable. “No one should ever have to endure the kind of pain we live with now — the kind of hell that comes from knowing it was preventable,” Miller-Zahn said.

“The $200 million figure is not a reflection of a specific dollar value on a human life — no amount of money can ever replace a loved one,” said lead attorney Robert Curtis of Foley Bezek Behle & Curtis LLP, the law firm representing the Millers.

“That number is used as a placeholder, a standard practice in these types of claims, to preserve the family’s full legal rights as we pursue justice. What this case is really about is accountability. It’s about making sure the government answers for what happened and taking steps to prevent other families from experiencing the same tragedy.”

The family’s claim accuses the FAA and U.S. Army of  “negligence” and “systemic failures,” including inadequate air traffic control procedures, poor operational oversight, and disregard for known safety risks. 

“Most notably, the FAA had received over 15,000 reports of near-misses involving aircraft near Washington, D.C., in just the past four years — warnings that went unaddressed,” the lawsuit states.

And hearings by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) last week revealed more information that helps the Miller family’s case. 

Investigators found that the collision occurred at an altitude of 278 feet, despite guidelines limiting the Army helicopter to a maximum height of 200 feet along that portion of its route. But the Black Hawk’s pilots may have been unaware of their actual height due to inaccurate readings by their barometric altimeter — a potential error which Army representatives said is not unusual. Barometric altimeters use the air pressure to merely estimate altitude, and are not known for being 100 percent accurate.

Military representatives said that, in response, the Army is considering amending its flight manual to warn pilots about potential discrepancies in altitude readings. 

Additionally, investigators said that air traffic controllers at DCA, a busy airport with a high volume of traffic, were told to “make it work,” including using an additional runway to accommodate more arrivals, which happened on the night of the accident. 

Investigators found that FAA staff had expressed concerns about the proximity of the helicopter route to the airport, but nothing was done. They suggested adding a warning to helicopter charts when the additional runway was in use, but the agency refused. A working group at the airport also discussed moving or eliminating the helicopter route, but nothing transpired after the staff were told no “due to continuity of government operations or security,” according to former DCA tower operations manager Clark Allen.

During this point in the hearing, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy admonished the FAA for their apparent failure to address safety concerns. 

“Are you kidding me? Sixty-seven people are dead! How do you explain that? Our bureaucratic process?” she said. “Fix it. Do better.” 

Both the Army and the FAA defended themselves and tried to shift blame during the hearing, highlighting a mixed bag of apparent errors, oversight, and miscommunication that led to the crash. 

What has been done, though, is Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s permanent restriction of nonessential helicopter operations around DCA and the elimination of mixed traffic between helicopters and other aircraft, like commercial jets. The NTSB’s final report on the incident will be released next year.