Delta Air Lines has announced that it will offer $30,000 in compensation to each passenger on board the plane that crashed while landing at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week. A spokesperson for the airline confirmed to AFP on Wednesday that the payment comes with “no strings attached” and does not affect passengers’ legal rights.
The accident occurred on Monday when a Delta flight from Minneapolis, Minnesota, made a hard landing, causing the aircraft to flip upside down. The crash sent fire and thick black smoke billowing into the air, but miraculously, none of the 80 people on board were killed.
Delta reported that 21 passengers sustained injuries, though only one remained hospitalised as of Wednesday morning. Emergency responders treated victims for a range of conditions, including back sprains, head injuries, anxiety, and headaches.
Video footage of the crash, verified by AFP, captured the harrowing moment the Bombardier CRJ-900 hit the runway, rolled over, and skidded to a stop on its roof, its wings torn off in the impact.
Canada’s Transportation Safety Board has launched an investigation into the cause of the crash, working alongside the US Federal Aviation Administration, Delta, and Mitsubishi, which took over the CRJ aircraft line from Bombardier in 2019.
The Toronto crash is the latest in a series of high-profile air accidents in North America. Last week, a US Army helicopter collided midair with a passenger jet in Washington, killing 67 people. Additionally, a medical transport plane crashed in Philadelphia, leaving seven dead.
As authorities investigate the cause of the Delta crash, the airline’s swift compensation offer aims to address passenger concerns while broader aviation safety questions remain unanswered.
