In U.S. court, Canadian passengers blame Delta's 'recklessness' for Toronto crash
Plaintiffs blame airline and crew for 'negligence and recklessness,' seek unspecified damages
Nine Canadians who suffered "extreme" injuries in last month's fiery crash at Toronto's Pearson International Airport are blaming Delta Air Lines and its flight crew and seeking unspecified damages, according to new U.S. court filings reviewed by CBC News.
Minneapolis law firm Chestnut Cambronne filed the six similarly-worded lawsuits in U.S. District Court last Friday. All plaintiffs — including a minor identified only as C.S. — are listed as Canadian passengers on Delta Flight 4819, which flipped on the runway after travelling from Minneapolis to Toronto on Feb. 17.
The lawsuits allege "gross negligence and recklessness" by crew members, who were "inadequately trained and supervised" by Delta and Endeavor Air. The Delta subsidiary operated the CRJ-900, built by Canadian firm Bombardier.
The crew "failed to observe the most fundamental procedures for a landing approach into [Pearson], failed to appropriately monitor flight conditions on approach, and failed [to] communicate and react in the cockpit to those flight conditions," lawyers Bryan L. Bleichner and Christopher P. Renz wrote.
Dark smoke could be seen billowing from the fuselage after the mid-afternoon crash. Social media posts showed passengers left hanging upside down after the jet flipped over and came to a stop on the snowy runway.
According to the new lawsuits, the plaintiffs continued to suffer from "extreme bodily and mental injuries," a month after the incident, plus economic losses. Authorities previously said among 80 people on board, 21 were taken to hospital, including one child.
The allegations in the new lawsuits have not been tested in court. Public records show the airlines have not responded to the new allegations in court. The lawyers for the plaintiffs did not respond to an interview request on Wednesday.
The Minneapolis civil suits are the latest in a series of cases filed in connection with the flight. Toronto law firm Rochon Genova announced the day after the crash it had been retained by certain passengers and their families.
Canada's Transportation Safety Board is expected to release the preliminary findings of its investigation — but stop short of pointing to a cause — on Thursday.
Delta recently announced it would offer $30,000 US to each passenger on the flight, saying the proposal comes with "no strings attached."
With files from Michelle Song