Delta Air Lines is offering every crash victim onboard Delta flight 4819 $30,000 in compensation, a move that comes “with no strings attached” according to the Atlanta-based carrier.
$30,000 Compensation Offer From Delta Air Lines With No Strings Attached For Passengers On Flight 4819
On Monday, a Delta Connection CRJ-900 operated by Endeavor Air (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Delta) crashed upon landing in Toronto Pearson (YYZ) and flipped over. Passengers were left hanging like bats and forced to quickly evacuate. Miraculously, no one died in the crash and there were only two critical injuries
Delta has begun to reunite passengers with their bags (some grabbed their items as they deplaned, but most left their carry-on items onboard, and of course the checked bags could not be retrieved). It has also proactively offered every passenger $30,000, which a Delta spokesperson said “has no strings attached and does not affect rights.”
If all 76 passengers accept the offer, it would represent about $2.3 million in initial payouts.
In an earlier story, I mentioned Dela CEO Ed Basitan appeared on CBS News. During that interview he hailed the crew, stating they “performed heroically, and as expected.” He added that “it was an experienced crew” that operated DL4819 and that “there’s one level of safety at Delta between our mainline and our regional jets.”
Meanwhile, lawyers are salivating to get a piece of the class action lawsuit that will inevitably come forward. Speaking as an attorney, I understand the revenue on the table, but we still do not understand what caused the crash in the first place; even after surveillance video and a video from another pilot of the landing, we don’t know where blame lies. I’m not prepared to point fingers yet until we have a better idea of the chain of events that led to the crash.
For those wondering how the Delta plane crash in Toronto took place, here’s a new video of exactly what happened. pic.twitter.com/eSGvxcMSr6
— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) February 18, 2025
In the meantime, Delta will reach out to the passengers impacted to set up payment…and the money is tax-free!
image: Transportation Safety Board of Canada
Will it be paid in USD?
For the Canadians onboard. Thats. 42 percent exchange rate to the CAD!
Good on Ed for doing the right thing off the bat .
Hopefully , the extra profits from extra fees will be available for the victims , and not spent on public relations .
He ought to have written : “there’s one level of safety among all our mainline and regional jets” , not “between” .
This payment is hardly a windfall. No doubt the passengers have some expenses in replacement of objects that were heavily damaged and $30k doesn’t go very far these days. But it’s a nice bridge that should be welcome.
How about charging those who grabbed their carry on bags $30k
Those people should be jailed.
This is part of nearly any airline’s immediate accident response. Often luggage and other personal items are damaged or won’t be released by investigators any time soon (some people have waited over a year to get their briefcase back in past events!). The cash is to replace cell phones, car keys, laptops, suits for work, medications, arrange child/elder care for family to travel last minute, toiletries, etc etc.
There’s literally a finance person designated on the go team who rides on the plane. And has authority to make large cash withdrawals and dole out as needed. Every airline does this… AA did the same for families of those who died in the DC accident. Yes, even ULCCs.
I speak from personal experience.
I sat next to a deadheading pilot on a United flight yesterday and we discussed the crash. Looking at the video, it looks like plane was descending too fast and didn’t flare before landing, smashing into the runway flatly. He opined it was pilot error.
I wonder if they will offer more if this turns out to be pilot error or mechanical failure.
@Chi … +1 . A guess would be the final settlement would be high .
Correct No flare and flew it straight into the ground. Unless some type of instrumentation issue….pilot error apparently.
Tax free? I believe not. According to the United States Code 104(A)(2), your compensation for physical injuries or sickness is not a listed item under gross income. The amount you recover is not part of your income. In most cases, your settlement is not a taxable income as long as your monetary losses and damages occur because of an injury.
If an angel came to me and said that my flight would crash like that, nobody died, and that I would get $30,000 if I went on the flight, I would decline to fly. I do not want to be thrown around and have a 5% chance of being hospitalized (3 of 80 people).
I think all could claim emotional distress and get away with it. Injury not limited to physical or visible injury.
@Matthew … +1 . Exactly . The photo shows the plane upside down with no wings . Prima facie emotional distress and fear for one’s life . Defense would need to prove there was not emotional distress , which would be impossible given the facts .
Curious how the Montreal Convention will apply here… have used it as a defense in court against a passenger claiming injury on an international flight. Didn’t disagree they were hurt, but disagreed with their legal right to sue over it. I won.
Matthew,
IRS is very clear that emotional distress and anything arising from it is 100 percent taxable. Only physical injuries are tax free.
Furthermore, you are taxed on gross proceeds, including the portion that goes toward attorney fees. That was a provision on the trump tax cuts.
Actual medical expenses from emotional distress are not taxable.
I’m pretty sure thats only reimbursement for past medical expenses related to emotional distress. Compensation for emotional distress would definitely be taxable.
Also, the tax exemption for personal physical injuries is only for settlements or earning from lawsuits. A cash payment with no strings attached unrelated to any direct claim for damages would almost certainly be taxable as a windfall.
Finally, what’s your take on the “no strings attached,” is there some sort of play by Delta here that would have any bearing on the outcome of litigation?
I’d take the “no strings attached” language at face value, however, I’d be interested in reviewing the specific language in any exchange that occurs between Delta and the impacted customers as the money transfer is set up.
Not according to the IRS
From the IRS website
“Emotional distress recovery must be on account of (attributed to) personal physical injuries or sickness unless the amount is for reimbursement of actual medical expenses related to emotional distress that was not previously deducted under IRC Section 213. See Emerson v, Comr., T.C. Memo 2003-82 & Witcher v. Comr., T.C. Memo 2002-292.
As a result of the amendment in 1996, mental and emotional distress arising from non-physical injuries are only excludible from gross income under IRC Section104(a)(2) only if received on account of physical injury or physical sickness.”
Since 1996, damages from emotional distress itself are TAXABLE