Delta Air Lines Offers $30,000 to Passengers in Crash Landing
Delta Air Lines (DAL) has announced that it will compensate passengers aboard the Minneapolis-to-Toronto flight that crash-landed with $30,000 each, without any conditions.
All 21 passengers hospitalized after the February 17th crash of Delta Flight 4819 have been discharged, according to Delta's website. None of the 76 passengers on the plane were fatally injured.
The offer, which could total $2.3 million if accepted by all passengers, does not prohibit lawsuits against Delta stemming from the incident.
Legal Basis for Compensation
Delta's offer complies with international treaties (Warsaw Convention and Montreal Convention) governing flights and passenger injuries or fatalities. These treaties require airlines to make advance payments to cover immediate economic needs of passengers.
In cases of injury or death, passengers are entitled to a minimum payment of 16,000 Special Drawing Rights (approximately $20,000), advanced against the carrier's ultimate liability. Carriers cannot limit liability for damages below 151,880 Special Drawing Rights (about $200,000).
Delta CEO Ed Bastian has praised the crew of the crashed Endeavor-operated flight (a Delta subsidiary) as "experienced" and "heroic."
Investigators are still working to determine the cause of the crash. Video footage shows the plane hard landing on a snow-covered runway, bouncing, and flipping upside down. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is leading the investigation, assisted by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).