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Airline Employee Who Survived Toronto Crash Claims Pilot Was 'Inexperienced and Inadequately Trained'
@Source: people.com
A passenger on board the Delta plane that rolled over during a crash landing in Toronto in February is now suing the airline.
According to a lawsuit filed on July 28, Michigan resident Vanessa Miles boarded Toronto-bound Endeavor Air Flight 4819 in Minneapolis on Feb. 17, 2025. The woman was an employee of Endeavor Air — a regional Delta subsidiary — but was traveling as a passenger to reach another assignment location, a practice known as “deadheading.”
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the flight crash landed at Toronto Pearson International Airport at around 2:45 p.m. local time. Footage and photos captured during the incident show the jet catching fire as it hit the runway, skidded out and rolled over, coming to rest upside down.
All 80 people on board — 76 passengers and four crew members — were evacuated, per the FAA.
On the day of the incident, Delta issued a statement stating that 18 customers with injuries were transported to local hospitals.
Miles and her lawyers claim the incident was a result of Delta’s alleged “grossly negligent operation of the aircraft.”
“This accident was caused, at least in part, by Defendants knowing assigning an inexperienced and inadequately trained pilot to operate the flight,” the lawsuit claims. “Defendants cut corners on safety by rushing pilots through training programs and knowingly putting passengers at risk with inexperienced flight crew.”The suit details Miles’ alleged injuries during the crash. She claims she was left temporarily unconscious while hanging upside down in the inverted aircraft. She says she was soaked in jet fuel and surrounded by smoke. After unlocking her seatbelt and attempting to escape, she says she fell 6-7 feet to the ground because the emergency slides were not deployed. Then, she allegedly had to wait an hour in 15-degree weather for transportation to the hospital.
Miles allegedly suffered severe and permanent injuries, including a fractured shoulder, traumatic brain injury, back injuries, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and more.Legal claims include strict liability, negligence and gross negligence. Miles demands damages of at least $75 million on top of legal costs.
“Ms. Miles suffered significant injuries when Delta Air Lines/Endeavor Air Flight 4819 crash-landed in Toronto after preventable safety, training, and evacuation failures, as alleged in our complaint," Madeline Sinkovich, an attorney with Mike Morse Law Firm, shared in a statement with PEOPLE. "We are pursuing full accountability and compensation in court.”
Delta Air Lines declined to comment on pending litigation, though a spokesperson for the company said Delta “continues to support the Transportation Safety Board of Canada’s ongoing investigation.”
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The agency’s preliminary report, released on March 20, found winds were gusting up to 35 knots at the time the plane approached Runway 23 for landing. After the rapid descent, the right main landing gear fractured and the wind detached from the plane.
“For everyone at Endeavor Air and Delta, nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and our people. That’s why we remain fully engaged as participants in the investigation led by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada. Out of respect for the integrity of this work that will continue through their final report, Endeavor Air and Delta will refrain from comment,” the company shared at the time.
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