At least 28 bodies were pulled from the icy waters of the Potomac River after the helicopter collided with the American Airlines regional jet while it was landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport. The plane carried 60 passengers and four crew members. Three soldiers were aboard the helicopter.
Maxwell, a junior majoring in mechanical engineering with a minor in biomedical engineering at the time of her death, was on her way back to campus from her home in Wichita, KS.
Also killed in the crash was Cincinnati native Elizabeth Anne Keys, a Medeira High School valedictorian who was working in the Washington, D.C. offices of the law firm Wilkinson Stekloff at the time.
The lawsuit suggests that others, including the pilots of the jet and the airlines, may also have played a role. the lawsuit blames American Airlines and its regional partner, PSA Airlines, for roles in the crash. The airlines have filed a motion to dismiss.
The National Transportation Safety Board is expected to release its report on the cause of the crash in early 2026, but investigators have already highlighted a number of factors that contributed, including the helicopter flying 78 feet higher than the 200-foot limit on a route that allowed minimal separation between planes landing on Reagan’s secondary runway and helicopters passing below.
The NTSB said the Federal Aviation Administration failed to recognize the dangers around the busy airport even after 85 near misses in the three years before the January crash.
The lawsuit is seeking more than $250 million in damages.
The crash was the deadliest on American soil in more that two decades.
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