Delta Air Lines has announced a compensation of $30,000 to each passenger aboard Flight 4819, which crash-landed at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Monday. The airline emphasised that this gesture comes with “no strings attached” and does not affect passengers’ legal rights.
Flight 4819, operated by Endeavor Air, departed from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport at 11:34 am on Monday, carrying 76 passengers and four crew members. Upon landing in Toronto around 2:10 pm, the Bombardier CRJ-900 aircraft experienced a hard landing, causing the right wing to strike the ground and detach. The plane subsequently overturned and came to rest upside down on the runway, emitting flames and smoke. Remarkably, all 80 individuals on board survived, though 21 were hospitalised for injuries ranging from back sprains to head trauma. As of Wednesday, only one passenger remained under medical care.
Onboard video of the passenger evacuation from the Delta crash in Toronto#delta #Toronto #planecrash pic.twitter.com/fBEnsqDXuk
— 🇺🇸 Craig 🇺🇸 (@craigsgoji) February 17, 2025
Delta’s response
In a statement, Delta’s spokesperson, Morgan Durrant, confirmed the compensation offer, stating that the Delta Care Team is informing customers that the payment is a goodwill gesture with no conditions attached, ensuring it does not affect their rights. If all passengers accept, the total payout would be approximately $2.3 million.
Delta’s CEO, Ed Bastian, defended the actions of the flight crew during an interview on “CBS Mornings,” highlighting that all Delta pilots are trained to handle various weather conditions. He remarked, “All these pilots train for these conditions. They fly under all kinds of conditions at all of the airports in which we operate.”
Passengers recounted their harrowing experiences, with some describing how they found themselves hanging upside down after the aircraft came to a stop. Despite the chaos, the crew managed a swift evacuation, which Bastian praised as both “heroic” and “expected,” highlighting the effectiveness of Delta’s safety protocols.
Investigation underway
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has initiated an investigation into the incident. Preliminary reports indicate that the aircraft’s right wing made contact with the runway during landing, leading to the subsequent overturning. Investigators have retrieved the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder for analysis. Weather conditions at the time included significant snowfall and wind gusts, but officials have not yet determined if these factors contributed to the crash.
