Delta Air Lines offers $30,000 for each passenger on the flight that crashed in Toronto – CNN

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Delta Air Lines Flight 4819 flipped over upon landing at Toronto Pearson International airport, leaving 76 passengers hanging upside down from their seatbelts. Now the company is offering them $30,000 each.

If all passengers accept the offer, the airline will pay out approximately $2.3 million in total.

“Delta Care Team representatives are telling customers this gesture has no strings attached and does not affect their rights,” a spokesperson for the airline told CNN.

The CRJ900 twin-jet aircraft was cleared for landing on February 17 when, at around 2:15 p.m. ET, it crashed, caught fire and flipped over. Video obtained by CNN shows the aircraft’s rear landing gear buckling and the right wing shearing off in a fireball after the plane landed hard on the runway. Strong winds had been reported in Toronto throughout the day.

All 80 people on board, including four crew members, survived. Twenty-one passengers were taken to the hospital but have since been released, according to the airline.

It is unclear when and how passengers will be able to receive the compensation for the flight, which was arriving from Minneapolis and operated by Delta subsidiary Endeavor Air.

Passengers who accept Delta’s payment should receive the money shortly after agreeing, according to Thomas A. Demetrio, co-founding partner of the law firm Corboy & Demetrio, which specializes in plaintiffs’ personal injury, commercial litigation as well as aviation litigation.

“There’s really no reason to to dilly-dally,” he said.

An initial payment is standard for an incident like this one, Erin Applebaum, who is a partner at Kreindler, a law firm that specializes in aviation accident law, and who is representing several of the passengers who were on the flight.

“It’s a nice gesture, public relations-wise, too, on Delta’s behalf, to help people who may need immediate assistance financially,” said Demetrio.

But Delta’s offer will probably not be a deterrent for passengers on Flight 4819 who want to file a lawsuit following the incident, she added.

“The compensation requested would be for any medical expenses incurred, for any lost income because of one’s inability to work, because they’re, mentally not ready to go back to work,” Demetrio told CNN.

An international treaty known as the Montreal Convention covers cases that occur on international itineraries.

Under the treaty, passengers who are injured on international flights can be compensated up to $200,000 as long as they can prove that an accident happened, even in cases when the airline was not negligent.

If passengers have injuries with associated costs that exceed that amount, they are entitled to compensation without dispute. However, if the airline is found to be negligent, the cap on damages can exceed $200,000, according to Applebaum.

Under the Montreal Convention, passengers have two years to file a lawsuit.

“There’s plenty of time to wait and see how injuries develop and things go for these passengers,” Applebaum said.

Applebaum said she expects most cases to be resolved outside of court in about 12 months to 18 months and prior to any lawsuit.
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Source: https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/20/business/delta-toronto-crash-payout-offer/index.html