Jamie Spencer
Delta Air Lines (DAL) announced that it would pay each passenger onboard the Minneapolis-to-Toronto flight that crash-landed $30,000 with no strings attached, following the incident on February 17.
Compensation Details and Legal Context
A Delta spokesperson confirmed the payment offer, although it is unclear how many passengers have accepted it. If all 76 passengers take the deal, the total payout would amount to $2.3 million.
The compensation is offered under international treaties, including the Warsaw Convention and Montreal Convention, which require airlines to provide advance payments to meet passengers’ immediate economic needs. The treaties state that passengers must be paid at least 16,000 Special Drawing Rights (approximately $20,000) in the event of injury or death, with liability limits set at 151,880 Special Drawing Rights (around $200,000).
Importantly, accepting the payment does not prevent passengers from pursuing legal action against Delta.
Passenger and Crew Safety
All 21 passengers hospitalized after the crash have been discharged. None of the 76 passengers onboard were killed.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian praised the Endeavor-operated flight crew as “experienced” and said they performed “heroically” during the incident.
Crash Investigation Ongoing
The cause of the crash is still under investigation. Video footage shows the CRJ-900 jet landing hard on a snow-covered runway, bouncing, and then flipping over, coming to rest upside down.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is leading the investigation, with assistance from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
