Delta Air Lines offers $30,000 to survivors of Toronto crash-landing plane

Abdullateef Fowewe

Delta Air Lines has claimed that it was offering $30,000 to each passenger who was aboard the flight from Minneapolis that crashed and flipped upside down on Monday, February 17, while trying to land in Toronto.

A report revealed that 76 passengers and four crew members, who were on Delta Flight 4819 survived after the jet made a rough landing and rolled over, ending belly-up with its right wing sheared off at Toronto Pearson International Airport last Monday.

Of the 21 passengers who were taken to hospitals, all but one had been released by Wednesday morning, Delta Air Lines said, affirming that none of the passengers had life-threatening injuries.

However, according to the New York Times, Delta Air Lines confirmed that it had made the $30,000 offer to passengers. Its representatives were telling the passengers that the offer came with “no strings attached and does not affect rights”.

Three days after the crash, officials have released few details about the investigation. On Wednesday, Ed Bastian, Delta’s chief executive, said in an interview on CBS that the flight had been staffed by an “experienced crew” but provided little further information.

But it appears that passengers are already considering how to seek compensation from Delta. Rochon Genova, a Canadian law firm, said it had been retained by some of the passengers.

According to international treaties, when an international aviation accident causes injury or death, airlines in the United States are required to make advance payments to passengers if the airline determines that the money is necessary to cover their immediate economic needs.

If a passenger dies, the initial payment must be more than about $20,000, according to the Delta Air Lines website, which cites the Warsaw and Montreal Conventions which govern airplane liability. If the passenger is injured, the amount of the payment is determined by the airline.

Making such a payment does not mean the airline admits liability. If passengers later win compensation in a lawsuit, the initial payment will be deducted from the sum of the compensation.