Delta reveals information about pilots flying plane that crashed in Canada; CEO lauds flight crew for performing 'heroically'

Delta Air Lines has released information about the pilots who flew the plane that crash-landed in Canada. The airline released the information to counter "disinformation" posted on social media about the flight crew of Delta Flight 4819.

On Thursday night, Delta Air Lines released a statement to correct "misleading assertions" about the pilots of the Bombardier CRJ-900LR jet that flipped upside down while attempting to land at the Toronto Pearson International Airport on Monday.

'You start thinking about your loved ones — my wife and children — and you just try to brace yourself.'

"Endeavor Air and Delta are correcting disinformation in social media containing false and misleading assertions about the flight crew of Endeavor Air 4819," the statement began.

Delta said the captain of the plane was hired in October 2007 by Mesaba Airlines, which merged with Pinnacle Airlines in 2012 to form Endeavor Air. Following a Chapter 11 reorganization, Endeavor Air became a wholly owned regional subsidiary of Delta Air Lines.

The statement noted, "He has served both as an active-duty captain and in pilot training and flight safety capacities."

Delta stressed, "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."

Regarding the first officer on the chaotic flight, she was hired by Endeavor Air in January 2024 and completed training last April.

"She has been flying for Endeavor since that time," Delta stated. "Her flight experience exceeded the minimum requirements set by U.S. federal regulations. Assertions that she failed training events are false."

CBS News reported that the first officer graduated from a university with an accredited and "well-respected aviation program," which enabled her to "start working with fewer than 1,500 hours under a Restricted Air Transport Pilot certificate."

The first officer surpassed the 1,500-hour mark and earned her full Airline Transport Pilot certificate, which is the highest-level pilot certification in the United States, in January 2023.

The airline company said both flight crew members are qualified and certified by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said during a "CBS Mornings" interview that aired on Wednesday, "Our Endeavor crew performed heroically, but also as expected. The reality is that safety is embedded into our system.”

Bastian added, "We’re a very competitive industry across the U.S. airlines, but there’s one thing we do not compete on, and that’s safety. We all work together, and we all learn from each other."

"All these pilots train for these conditions," Bastian continued. "They fly under all kinds of conditions at all the airports in which we rate, so there's nothing specific with respect to experience that I'd look to."

The pilots attempted to land the commercial airliner at the Toronto Pearson International Airport, which had been hit by two winter storms in the days leading up to the plane crash.

Videos show the plane experiencing a rough landing, which may have caused the landing gear to collapse. The plane burst into flames, the right wing was torn off, and the aircraft flipped upside down.

Nate Richie, a passenger on the Delta flight, recalled the moment the plane rolled on the runway.

"We were jolted and started to roll," Richie told Fox News on Friday. "[There were] explosions and fire on the opposite side of the plane as we started rolling, [with] things flying through the air and bodies being jolted around."

Richie said special moments in his life flashed before his eyes, and he started to think: "This is it."

"You start thinking about your loved ones — my wife and children — and you just try to brace yourself," Richie explained.

Miraculously, there were no fatalities in the crash landing. However, 21 passengers were injured and needed to be hospitalized due to the air travel emergency.

As of Thursday morning, all 21 passengers were released from the hospital.

"The Delta and Endeavor families are grateful that all those injured Monday have been released from the hospital, and we extend our thanks to everyone who provided care to them over the past few days," Bastian said in a statement.

As Blaze News reported on Thursday, Delta Air Lines has offered the 76 passengers a compensation package of $30,000 apiece. The offer has "no strings attached," according to Delta.

The cause of the plane crash is still under investigation by the Canadian Transportation Safety Board with assistance from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board.

The aircraft's black box and cockpit voice recorder have been recovered from the wreckage.

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