The Atlanta-based airline confirmed the compensation amount on Wednesday afternoon. Spokesperson Morgan Durrant mentioned in an email that the Delta Care Team is informing customers that the financial gesture comes with “no strings attached and does not impact rights.”
On Wednesday, CEO Ed Bastian defended Delta's pilots during an interview on “CBS Mornings.” He emphasized that there is “one level of safety at Delta” among both mainline and regional pilots.
Bastian stated, “All these pilots train for these conditions. They fly under all kinds of conditions at all of the airports in which we operate. So, no, there’s nothing specific with respect to experience that I’d look to.”
On Monday, Flight 4819 departed from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) at approximately 11:34 a.m., carrying 76 passengers and four crew members. The flight was operated by Endeavor Air, a Minneapolis-based subsidiary of Delta that manages regional routes.
Aviation experts told the Minnesota Star Tribune about the hard landing when the right wing of the aircraft, a Bombardier CRJ-900, touched the ground and separated. As the aircraft traveled along the runway, it lost its other wing and tail, while flames and smoke erupted. Videos shared on social media showed passengers being evacuated from the overturned wreckage.
Some Minnesotans aboard the plane have recounted harrowing experiences of the sudden flip of the aircraft.
Despite the ongoing investigation, Bastian limited his comments on the crash. He described the footage of the terrified passengers and the wreckage as “horrifying.” However, he praised the outcome, where all passengers and crew escaped without serious injury, as a testament to the aircraft's safety and the operators' training.
“This is what we train for. We train for this continuously. The fact that they were able to evacuate that plane as expeditiously as they did, under extreme conditions, coupled with the fact that all 80 people walked off the plane with limited physical injuries, was really a testament to the safety that’s embedded in the systems,” Bastian noted.
Of the 21 passengers hospitalized on Monday, all but one had been released by Wednesday morning, according to Delta.
The Canadian authorities, led by the Transportation Safety Board, are investigating the crash with help from U.S. stakeholders and investigators, including the National Transportation Safety Board, the Federal Aviation Administration, Delta, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which owns the Bombardier jet program.
TSB Senior Investigator Ken Webster reported that a team of over 20 is conducting interviews and examining the wreckage. Devices containing the flight data and cockpit recordings have been recovered and sent for laboratory analysis.
Webster emphasized that the cause of the crash is still under investigation, and no reasons have been provided for the aircraft's wreckage.
