Delta Air Lines to Compensate Passengers in Crash-Landing Incident
Delta Air Lines (DAL) has announced it will compensate passengers on a Minneapolis-to-Toronto flight that crash-landed with $30,000 each. The company confirmed the offer to Yahoo Finance, but the number of passengers who have accepted is unknown.
As of Thursday, February 17th, 2025, all 21 passengers were discharged from the hospital. None of the 76 passengers were killed. The compensation, totaling $2.3 million if all passengers accept, does not preclude passengers from pursuing legal action.
Delta's offer complies with international treaties governing aviation incidents. Airlines are required to make advance payments to meet passengers' immediate economic needs.
In cases involving injury or death, passengers receive a minimum of 16,000 Special Drawing Rights (equivalent to $20,000) as an advance against the carrier's liability. Carriers cannot limit liability when damages do not exceed 151,880 Special Drawing Rights ($200,000).
Delta CEO Ed Bastian praised the "heroic" efforts of the Endeavor-operated crew, a wholly owned Delta subsidiary.
While investigators continue to determine the cause of the crash, video footage shows the plane landing hard on a snow-covered runway before bouncing and flipping over. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is leading the investigation.