Delta disputes ‘disinformation’ about flight crew on plane that crash-landed at Pearson Airport

Delta Air Lines and its subsidiary, Endeavor Air, have released a statement in response to “false and misleading assertions” about the flight crew on the plane that crash-landed at Toronto’s Pearson airport on Monday.

All 76 passengers and four crew members survived when Delta Flight 4819, operated by Endeavor, crashed upon landing and burst into flames. The plane ended up on its backside.

On Thursday night, Delta and Endeavor set out to correct “disinformation” on social media that suggested the captain and first officer on the flight failed training events.

“Mesaba Airlines, a progenitor company of Endeavor Air, hired the captain in October 2007,” the release said.

“He has served both as an active duty Captain and in pilot training and flight safety capacities. Assertions that he failed training events are false. Assertions that he failed to flow into a pilot position at Delta Air Lines due to training failures are also false.”

The statement says the First Officer on the flight was hired in January 2024 by Endeavor Air and completed training in April.

“She has been flying for Endeavor since that time. Her flight experience exceeded the minimum requirements set by U.S. Federal regulations. Assertions that she failed training events are false.”

Both crew members are qualified and FAA certified for their positions, the statement added.

Delta and Endeavor did not name the two employees.

On Wednesday, Delta announced that it was offering all 76 passengers on the flight US$30,000 in compensation.

The airline said the gesture has “no strings attached and does not affect rights.”

Meanwhile, a Toronto law firm specializing in aviation cases confirmed it has been retained by two Canadian passengers on the flight.

Wreckage moved as investigation continues

The wreckage of the plane has been moved to a hangar as the Transportation Safety Board of Canada continues to investigate the cause of the crash.

One aviation expert who spoke with CityNews after viewing videos of the crash landing, said the plane appeared to descend too quickly, causing a hard landing.

“At first blush it appears that that rate of descent does not look like it was mitigated prior to touchdown,” J. Joseph, a veteran aviator in the U.S. Marine Corps., with more than 30,000 logged flight hours, told CityNews on Tuesday.

Joseph says weather was also a factor, with strong winds reported at the time.

“Again, the very challenging gusty wind conditions that prevailed at the time of the mishap look like they would have contributed significantly to the workload of the pilots.” 

“But again, clearly the rate of descent simply has to be arrested prior to touchdown.”

One passenger described a jolting landing and the chaos that ensued in an interview with CityNews.

“When we hit, it was just super hard. The plane went sideways,” John Nelson said. “I believe we skidded on our side and flipped over on our back. Where we ended up, there was a big fireball.”

“It was mass chaos. I was upside down,” he added. “The lady next to me was upside down. We let ourselves go, and I hit the ceiling, which is a surreal feeling. And then everybody was just like, get out, get out, get out.”