US airline Delta announced on Wednesday that it will provide $30,000 to each passenger on the plane that crashed during landing at Toronto airport this week, according to a statement provided to AFP. A company spokesman emphasized, “This gesture has no strings attached and does not affect rights” of the affected passengers.
The incident occurred on Monday when a Delta flight, departing from Minneapolis, Minnesota, hit the runway hard at Toronto’s main airport and flipped over. A fireball erupted and thick plumes of black smoke enveloped the aircraft as it slid to a halt on its roof; however, none of the 80 passengers onboard were killed.
Delta reported that 21 passengers sustained injuries in the accident, with only one remaining hospitalized as of Wednesday morning. Emergency responders treated a range of injuries, including back sprains, head injuries, anxiety, and headaches.
Dramatic footage verified by AFP on Tuesday captured the Bombardier CRJ-900 as it approached for landing, collided with the runway, rolled forward with its wings sheared off, and eventually came to rest upside down.
Canada’s Transportation Safety Board has launched an investigation into the crash, with assistance from the US Federal Aviation Administration, Delta, and Mitsubishi, which acquired the CRJ series from Bombardier in 2019.
This Toronto incident is the latest in a series of air mishaps in North America, following a midair collision in Washington involving a US Army helicopter and a passenger jet that claimed 67 lives, and a medical transport plane crash in Philadelphia that resulted in seven fatalities.
