Delta Air Lines has confirmed that it has offered all 76 passengers on the Delta Connection regional jet that crashed and burst into flames at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Monday an initial cash payment of $30,000 as a goodwill gesture.
The embattled airline says the payment has no strings attached and will not affect the rights of anyone onboard Delta flight DL4819 to pursue legal action against the carrier in the future.
As a point of comparison, following the fatal turbulence incident aboard a Singapore Airlines flight from London Heathrow to Singapore Changi in May 2024, the most seriously injured passengers were offered a goodwill payment of $25,000, while passengers who sustained minor injuries received an initial payment of $10,000.
Two days after the accident and the miraculous escape of everyone onboard, Delta said that its engineers had been involved in helping to remove the 16-year-old CRJ regional jet from the runway at Toronto Pearson on Wednesday.
The investigation into the crash is being led by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, with support from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board.
The so-called ‘black boxes’—the cockpit data and voice recorders—have been recovered from the aircraft, although it could be weeks before a clearer picture emerges of how and why the plane tipped on its side, shearing off both wings and ending up on its back.
In addition to the $30,000 goodwill payment, Delta says it is continuing to support passengers on Flight 4819, as well as their loved ones. Having recovered luggage from the plane that was left behind by passengers, Delta says it will start the painstaking work of cleaning belongings and returning them to their owners – a laborious process that could take weeks to complete.
Earlier on Wednesday, Delta chief executive Ed Bastian threw his support behind the crew of Flight 4819, who were working for Endeavour Air, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Delta Air Lines.
“Our Endeavor crew performed heroically, but also as expected,” Bastian told CBS. “The reality is that safety is embedded into our system.”
“We’re a very competitive industry across the U.S. airlines, but there’s one thing we do not compete on, and that’s safety,” Bastian continued.
In the aftermath of the crash, 21 passengers had to be transported to the hospital, but 20 of those have already been discharged.
