Delta Air Lines is now facing 11 separate lawsuits stemming from the crash landing of Flight DL4819 at Toronto Pearson Airport on February 17, inverting the Bombardier CRJ regional jet upside down on the freezing runway.
Miraculously, all 80 passengers and crew walked away from the wreckage, although some of the passengers say they have been left with “extreme injuries” from the crash landing.
Amongst those passengers was Marthinus Lourens, who was one of the first victims to sue Delta over the accident. Marthinus was drenched in jet fuel as the plane slid down the runway and was left suspended, hanging upside down with significant injuries to his head, neck, back, knees, and face.
Another passenger, Hannah Krebs, said she was violently thrown about the cabin as the plane was flipped upside down, according to another lawsuit filed against the airline.
Most of the lawsuits against the Atlanta-based carrier are making claims under the Montreal Convention, which makes airlines responsible for injuries sustained by passengers during the course of an international flight.
Some of the lawsuits also accuse Delta of negligence and an “extensive litany of errors and omissions” that led to the accident.
Last week, Delta filed to have all of the lawsuits moved to a Minnesota district court where they can be consolidated for pre-trial proceedings. Delta chose Minnesota because Flight 4819 departed from Minneapolis.
“The District of Minnesota has the most, and most substantial, connections to the Accident of any U.S. District and would be the most convenient and logical location in the United States for a significant majority of parties and potential parties,” attorneys acting on behalf Delta wrote in their motion to the court.
The airline attorneys told the court that Delta denies claims that the airline was responsible for the injuries sustained by passengers on Flight 4819.
Delta says it is anticipating more passengers from Flight 4819 to file suit against the airline in the coming weeks and months.
An investigation by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) into the accident is still ongoing, but in late March, a preliminary report highlighted 11 areas of the investigation that will be examined in much more detail.
These include examining the wing structure of the jet, which was operated by Delta’s wholly owned subsidiary Endeavor Air, as well as landing techniques, pilot training, and certification of the landing gear.
The plane remains in storage, including the right wing and tail, which were torn from the fuselage as it slid down the runway.
The preliminary report highlighted how the two pilots were initially trapped in the cockpit because the flight deck door was jammed shut. The flight crew were eventually pulled out of an emergency escape hatch by a passenger who had already evacuated the aircraft.
In the aftermath of the crash, Delta was forced to reveal personal details about the two pilots after claims and fake reports about their flying experience started to run rampant on social media.
