Delta Airlines is offering each passenger onboard the plane that flipped over in Toronto the same compensation.
Delta Flight 4819, a Bombardier CRJ-900LR, was arriving from Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport on February 17 when it crash-landed just after 2:13PM in challenging weather conditions.
The aircraft, carrying 76 passengers and four crew members, flipped upon impact, prompting an immediate emergency response.
Survivors of the crash shared their experiences on social media and in interviews.
Snapchat user Ashley Zook filmed herself inside the overturned aircraft, visibly shaken. “I was just in a plane crash. Oh my god,” she said in the video.
Another passenger, Pete Koukov, who had his camera equipment on hand after filming ski content, captured his escape.
“Being alive feels pretty cool today,” he captioned his footage, which showed him climbing onto the tarmac with the assistance of a crew member.
“Holy f***,” he exclaimed while looking back at the wreckage. “Oh my f***ing God. Yo, I was just on this f***ing plane.”
John Nelson, another passenger, described the terrifying moments after impact in an interview with CNN.
“We hit the ground, and we were sideways, and then we were upside down,” Nelson recounted.
“I was able to just unbuckle and sort of fall and push myself to the ground. And then some people were kind of hanging and needed some help being helped down, and others were able to get down on their own,” he added.
“When we got finished, I was upside down, everybody else was there as well,” he continued. “We tried to get out of there as quickly as possible.”
He noted that after exiting the aircraft, another explosion occurred, but “luckily the firefighters got out of there.”
NBC News reports that Delta is providing $30,000 to each passenger as compensation.
A spokesperson for the airline emphasized that the offer “has no strings attached and does not affect rights,” meaning passengers can still pursue legal action if they choose.
Authorities confirmed that 21 of the 80 people on board sustained injuries, though none were life-threatening. As of February 20, only one person remained hospitalized, according to Delta.
Deborah Flint, CEO of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority, reassured the public that all injured individuals are expected to recover.
Air traffic control recordings have revealed the initial shock and urgency as the plane lay upside down on the runway.
In the recordings, an air traffic controller is heard saying: "This airplane has just crashed," as the Delta jet made its hard landing.
During a separate exchange between air traffic controllers and a Medevac helicopter, first responders flying above the airport provided their perspective on the crash scene.
“Just so you're aware, there’s people also walking around the aircraft there,” one individual noted.
“Yeah, we’ve got it,” another responded.
While one person said: “The aircraft is upside down and burning.”
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) and the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have both launched probes into the cause of the crash, with an initial report expected within 30 days.