Delta releases information about crew aboard flight that crashed, flipped in Toronto

Delta Air Lines has revealed information about the crew on board a flight from Minneapolis that crashed and flipped upside down at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Monday.

Officials say the captain was hired by Mesaba Airlines in October 2007, which merged with Pinnacle Airlines in 2012 to form Endeavor Air, a subsidiary of Delta. Additionally, he has served as an active duty captain and in pilot training and flight safety capacities.

CBS News learned the first officer graduated from a university with an accredited and well-respected aviation program, and so was able to start working with fewer than 1,500 hours under a Restricted Air Transport Pilot certificate. She crossed the 1,500-hour mark and earned her full ATP certificate in January 2023, which is the highest-level pilot certification in the U.S., before completing training last April, and has been flying for Endeavor since then.

Delta says her flight experience “exceeded the minimum requirements” set by federal regulations.

She passed all of her check rides and there were “no red flags” about her pilot skills, a source familiar told CBS News.

Delta added that claims spreading online alleging the captain and first officer had failed training events were false, and both crew members are Federal Aviation Administration certified for their positions.

“All these pilots train for these conditions,” Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said in an exclusive interview with CBS Mornings. “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.”

What caused Monday’s crash remains under investigation by the Canadian Transportation Safety Board, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration. On Tuesday, officials confirmed that the aircraft’s black box has been recovered.

The plane operated by Endeavor Air struck the landing strip as it arrived at Toronto Airport at about 1:15 p.m. CST, according to Delta. Images and video of the crash showed the CRJ-900 aircraft catching fire when it hit the pavement and proceeding to turn sideways while sliding across the airfield, losing its tail and both wings along the way.

On Wednesday, a Delta spokesperson said the airline is offering $30,000 to passengers who were aboard the flight. A spokesperson for the company says the Delta Care Team is telling passengers that “this gesture has no strings attached and does not affect rights.” 

As of Thursday, all 21 passengers injured in the crash have been released from the hospital. All of the 80 people on board Flight 4819 — 76 passengers and four crew members — survived the fiery crash.

contributed to this report.