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Delta Air Lines said Wednesday that it was offering $30,000 to each passenger who was aboard the flight from Minneapolis that crashed and flipped upside down this week while trying to land in Toronto.
All 80 people — 76 passengers and four crew members — who were on Delta Flight 4819 survived Monday after the jet made a rough landing and rolled over, ending belly-up with its right wing sheared off at Toronto Pearson International Airport. None of the passengers that were hurt had life-threatening injuries.
Delta’s representatives were telling the passengers that the offer came with “no strings attached and does not affect rights,” a company spokesperson said via email.
But it appears that passengers are already considering how to seek compensation from Delta. A Canadian law firm, Rochon Genova, said it had been retained by some of the passengers.
According to international treaties, when an international aviation crash causes injury or death, airlines in the United States are required to make advance payments to passengers if the airline determines that the money is necessary to cover their immediate economic needs.
If a passenger dies, the initial payment must be more than about $20,000, according to Delta’s website, which cites the Warsaw and Montreal Conventions that govern airplane liability.
If the passenger is injured, the amount of the payment is determined by the airline. Making such a payment does not mean the airline admits liability. If travelers later win compensation in a lawsuit, the initial payment will be deducted from the sum of the compensation.