Delta Air Lines has announced a $30,000 compensation package for each passenger aboard its flight that crash-landed at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
A spokesperson for the US carrier confirmed on Wednesday that the payout would be given with “no strings attached” and would not affect passengers’ legal rights.
The incident occurred on Monday when a Delta flight from Minneapolis, Minnesota, made a hard landing, flipped upside down, and was engulfed in flames and thick smoke.
Miraculously, all 80 passengers and crew on board survived, though 21 people sustained injuries, with one still hospitalized as of Wednesday.
Emergency responders treated victims for various injuries, including back sprains, head trauma, and severe anxiety following the terrifying crash.
Footage of the accident, widely shared on social media, captured the Bombardier CRJ-900 slamming into the runway before its wings were torn off, leaving the aircraft resting on its roof.
Canada’s Transportation Safety Board has launched an investigation, supported by the US Federal Aviation Administration, Delta, and Mitsubishi, which acquired the CRJ aircraft line from Bombardier in 2019.
The Toronto crash is the latest in a series of aviation incidents in North America, including a deadly midair collision between a US Army helicopter and a passenger jet in Washington and a medical transport plane crash in Philadelphia, both of which resulted in multiple fatalities.
Delta has assured passengers of its full cooperation with authorities and pledged continued support for those affected by the crash.
