Delta Air Lines has announced that it will provide $30,000 in compensation to each passenger involved in the crash landing of one of its planes at Toronto Pearson International Airport. The airline stated that this payment is a goodwill gesture and does not affect passengers’ legal rights.
The incident occurred on Monday when a Delta flight traveling from Minneapolis, Minnesota, experienced a hard landing at Toronto’s main airport. The aircraft, a Bombardier CRJ-900, flipped upside down upon impact, causing a fireball and thick black smoke. Despite the severity of the crash, all 80 passengers and crew members survived.
Emergency responders were quick to arrive at the scene, treating multiple injuries. According to Delta, 21 passengers sustained injuries, with one individual still hospitalized as of Wednesday morning. Paramedic teams reported various medical issues among the passengers, including head injuries, back sprains, anxiety, and headaches.
A video of the crash, widely shared on social media, showed the aircraft slamming into the runway before rolling forward and coming to a stop on its roof. The plane’s wings were torn off in the process.
Authorities have launched an investigation to determine the cause of the accident. Canada’s Transportation Safety Board is leading the probe, with support from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, Delta Air Lines, and Mitsubishi, the company that took over the CRJ aircraft line from Bombardier in 2019.
The Toronto crash adds to a series of recent aviation accidents in North America. In Washington, a midair collision between a U.S. Army helicopter and a passenger jet resulted in 67 fatalities, while a medical transport plane crash in Philadelphia claimed seven lives.
