In an attempt to combat misinformation about the skill levels and certification of the flight crew members, Delta Air Lines has defended and released information about the pilot and co-pilot of the ill-fated CRJ900 plane. The carrier released the information to counter "disinformation" posted on social media about the flight crew of Delta Flight 4819.
Social media has been abuzz this week with rumors about the qualifications of the pilots involved in the incident. However, much of the buzz seems to be focused on DEI activities from Delta and subsidiary Endeavor Air, including criticism of promoting all-female flight crews.
All the 80 people aboard Endeavor Air Flight 4819 survived after the plane erupted into flames and flipped over while landing at Toronto Pearson International Airport. Minneapolis-based Endeavor Air is a Delta subsidiary.
"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.
As per Delta Airlines, the captain of the aircraft 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."
As per reports, 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 reiterated that both the captain and first officer were qualified and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certified for their roles.
Very recently, there were a lot of backlash against corporate DEI programs and policies owing to the consecutive aviation accidents and incidents in the United States of America. That has spilled over into seemingly unending questions about what role those policies have played in any number of situations.
Also, following the tragic, fatal in-air collision near Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., President Donald Trump questioned whether DEI rules played a role. However, no such findings have been brought forward by the competent authoroties to sustain such claims.
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.
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.
Officials also credited the crew’s calm and quick response after the crash, getting many passengers out of the wrecked aircraft before emergency crews arrived on the scene.
Delta has offered to pay $30,000 to the 76 passengers on the flight. A spokesperson for the airline said the payment “has no strings attached and does not affect rights.”
Marthinus Lourens, who was a passenger on Delta Flight 4819 that crash-landed in Toronto on Monday, filed a lawsuit against the airline in federal court on Thursday.
According to the lawsuit, Lourens, who was traveling for business, "suffered significant injuries to his head, neck, back, knees and face" and was suspended upside down and "drenched with jet fuel."
The carrier did not name the crew or say who was at the controls during the landing. Confirmed by the Canadian TSB, The aircraft's black box and cockpit voice recorder have been recovered from the wreckage.
The cause of the plane crash is still under investigation by the Canadian Transportation Safety Board (TSB) with assistance from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board. Investigators are considering weather conditions, along with the possibility of pilot error or an aircraft malfunction.
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