Latest news with #EndeavorAir
CTV News
14 hours ago
- Business
- CTV News
At least 5 more lawsuits filed against Delta Airlines after harrowing crash at Pearson
An aircraft from Delta Airlines sits upside down on the tarmac at Toronto Pearson International airport on Monday February 17, 2024. Teresa Barbieri/The Canadian Press Delta Airlines is denying that they're entirely to blame for the harrowing Flight 4819 crash landing at Pearson's International Airport in February. CTV News has learned that at least five new lawsuits were filed by passengers this week against Delta Airlines Inc. and the company's regional carrier Endeavor Air. The most recent lawsuits, filed on June 2 and 3, share similar language. They claim the airline failed 'to observe the most fundamental procedures for a landing approach into YYZ, failing to appropriately monitor flight conditions on approach, and failing to communicate and react in the cockpit to those flight conditions.' They also claim that 'the Delta Crash occurred due to the gross negligence and recklessness of the Delta and/or Endeavor flight crew.' Eighty people were on board the Bombardier CRJ-900 passenger plane as it rolled and skidded across the runway on its roof at Toronto's Pearson Airport on Feb. 17, 2025. McGill University aviation management lecturer John Gradek still marvels that no one was killed. 'A landing, 200 kilometres an hour, flipped on its roof and did a full 180, fuel spilling out of the airplane and everyone got out of the plane in 90 seconds – amazing,' recalled Gradek. Videos of the chaos inside the cabin spread quickly on social media. Twenty-one passengers and crew were injured. A preliminary report released by Canada's Transportation Safety Board (TSB) found a warning system on the plane sent an alert 'indicating a high rate of descent' less than three seconds before the fiery crash landing. Multiple passengers, including Canadians, have filed their civil cases with U.S. courts for the districts of Minnesota, Georgia and Texas. In response to one of the lawsuits, lawyers representing Delta issued a court filing on May 30 that states that the airline 'denies all allegations' made by a passenger who claims he 'suffered significant injuries to his head, neck, back, knees and face...' Gradek says the safety board has its work cut out for it with so many questions hanging over the incident. The TSB has said it could take a total of 600 days to complete their report, which means it could take until October 2026 until their findings are made public. 'Who was at fault? … What type of deficiencies do we have in the operating practices that led to this type of behaviour by the flight crew? Those things have not been defined yet and I expect that to be part of the Transportation Safety boards final report' adds Gradek. Delta declined CTV News' request for comment, though the airline company did say that they fully support the TSB's ongoing investigation.
CTV News
17 hours ago
- General
- CTV News
At least 5 more lawsuits filed against Delta Airlines after harrowing crash at Pearson
An aircraft from Delta Airlines sits upside down on the tarmac at Toronto Pearson International airport on Monday February 17, 2024. Teresa Barbieri/The Canadian PressPearson International Airport firefighters work on an upside down Delta Air Lines plane, which was heading from Minneapolis to Toronto when it crashed on the runway, in Toronto, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Teresa Barbieri Delta Airlines is denying that they're entirely to blame for the harrowing Flight 4819 crash landing at Pearson's International Airport in February. CTV News has learned that at least five new lawsuits were filed by passengers this week against Delta Airlines Inc. and the company's regional carrier Endeavor Air. The most recent lawsuits, filed on June 2 and 3, share similar language. They claim the airline failed 'to observe the most fundamental procedures for a landing approach into YYZ, failing to appropriately monitor flight conditions on approach, and failing to communicate and react in the cockpit to those flight conditions.' They also claim that 'the Delta Crash occurred due to the gross negligence and recklessness of the Delta and/or Endeavor flight crew.' Eighty people were on board the Bombardier CRJ-900 passenger plane as it rolled and skidded across the runway on its roof at Toronto's Pearson Airport on Feb. 17, 2025. McGill University aviation management lecturer John Gradek still marvels that no one was killed. 'A landing, 200 kilometres an hour, flipped on its roof and did a full 180, fuel spilling out of the airplane and everyone got out of the plane in 90 seconds – amazing,' recalled Gradek. Videos of the chaos inside the cabin spread quickly on social media. Twenty-one passengers and crew were injured. A preliminary report released by Canada's Transportation Safety Board (TSB) found a warning system on the plane sent an alert 'indicating a high rate of descent' less than three seconds before the fiery crash landing. Multiple passengers, including Canadians, have filed their civil cases with U.S. courts for the districts of Minnesota, Georgia and Texas. In response to one of the lawsuits, lawyers representing Delta issued a court filing on May 30 that states that the airline 'denies all allegations' made by a passenger who claims he 'suffered significant injuries to his head, neck, back, knees and face...' Gradek says the safety board has its work cut out for it with so many questions hanging over the incident. The TSB has said it could take a total of 600 days to complete their report, which means it could take until October 2026 until their findings are made public. 'Who was at fault? … What type of deficiencies do we have in the operating practices that led to this type of behaviour by the flight crew? Those things have not been defined yet and I expect that to be part of the Transportation Safety boards final report' adds Gradek. Delta declined CTV News' request for comment, though the airline company did say that they fully support the TSB's ongoing investigation.
CBC
3 days ago
- Business
- CBC
Facing 16 lawsuits for Toronto Pearson airport crash, Delta deflects blame
Delta Air Lines denies it's entirely at fault for injuries sustained in the Feb. 17 upside-down crash at Toronto Pearson International Airport, according to a U.S. court filing reviewed by CBC News. The fiery landing — on Delta Flight 4819, operated by its subsidiary, Endeavor Air — sent 21 of the 80 people on board to hospital. The incident has prompted passengers to file at least 16 separate lawsuits in U.S. federal court, seeking unspecified damages. At least 16 Canadians, who were among the 80 people on the flight, allege in lawsuits they were injured in the crash, which took off from Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport. The Canadians' civil cases were all filed in U.S. District Court in Minnesota. "Plaintiffs claim that these injuries and losses are Delta's and Endeavor's fault, and not the fault of any other party," the companies' attorney Michael G. McQuillen wrote in a filing last month. "Defendants deny these allegations." McQuillen said further lawsuits could be filed in the case, with "the potential for more than 70 plaintiffs." The filing, dated May 22, sought to consolidate all the lawsuits — including those filed by passengers from other states — in federal court in Minnesota. More passengers have since filed their own civil complaints in connection with the Toronto crash. A CBC News review of U.S. court records finds five further cases were filed this week, including one lawsuit on behalf of a Canadian woman and a minor identified only as "G.O.G." Both plaintiffs "suffered, and continue to suffer, from extreme bodily and mental injuries and economic losses as a direct result" of the hard landing, their lawsuit states. Several of the cases were filed by Minneapolis law firm Chestnut Cambronne and use similar wording. The lawsuits allege "gross negligence and recklessness" by crew members, who were "inadequately trained and supervised" by Delta and its subsidiary. Endeavor operated the CRJ-900, built by Canadian firm Bombardier. 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. Delta announced afterward it would offer $30,000 US to each passenger on the flight, saying the proposal comes with "no strings attached." WATCH | The plane alerted to a 'high rate of descent' before crash: Delta plane sent 'high rate of descent' alert before Toronto crash 2 months ago Duration 1:56 Delta Air Lines flight 4819 was coming in fast enough to set off an internal alert before it crashed at Toronto's Pearson International Airport last month, investigators say in a preliminary report that has not yet determined the accident's cause. Canada's Transportation Safety Board (TSB) found a warning system on the plane sent an alert "indicating a high rate of descent" less than three seconds before landing, according to a preliminary report published in March. The TSB also said that less than one second before landing, the angle of the plane's aircraft, known as the pitch attitude, was one degree. The flight operations manual states pitch attitude at touchdown should be between three and eight degrees, the report said. "It is too early to draw conclusions as to the causes of this accident," the TSB said at the time, adding a full investigation report will follow "in due course." The allegations in the lawsuits have not been tested in court. Both Delta and the Minnesota-based attorneys who filed the lawsuits, Bryan L. Bleichner and Christopher P. Renz, did not immediately respond to CBC's requests for comment on Tuesday. "The whole descent seemed to be off," one of the plaintiffs, Clayton Bouffard recently told CBC from his home in Greater Sudbury, Ont. "I remember telling my wife that we seemed to be going fast." Bouffard said in an interview more than a month after the crash that he continued to have a sore neck and hadn't slept well ever since.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Yahoo
Major U.S. Airport Reports 700 Delayed Flights
Hundreds of delayed flights are being reported to and from the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Delta Flights were especially affected and were on a ground delay at the Atlanta International Airport on May 11. The entire airport was initially on a ground delay from the Federal Aviation Administration in the morning on May 11, but that was lifted, and it was replaced with a notice for a "ground delay" for Delta flights that are leaving from the contiguous U.S. within 1,200 nautical miles of Atlanta, GA. According to FlightAware, the Atlanta airport is reporting more than 400 delays, a roughly even mixture of arrivals and departures. That was just before 1 p.m. ET. About 40 minutes later, Flight Aware was reporting 507 delays. By 4 p.m. ET, there were more than 700 planes delayed at the Atlanta airport, with Delta accounting for 470 of them and Endeavor Air for 103, according to FlightAware. Of the 722 delayed flights, 336 were supposed to depart in Atlanta, and another 386 were scheduled to arrive there. The ground stop for general departures at Atlanta appears to be leading to the hundreds of delays. In an earlier notice, the FAA said the problem was a 'runway equipment issue.' The FAA assured travelers it was being worked on. According to Fox5, the delays "were related to an earlier outage at the airport, as well as weather." "The FAA has temporarily slowed arrivals into Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport," the FAA statement said, indicating it would last until about 12:30 p.m. ET, which it roughly did as scheduled. But that created other backups. Affected flights included those heading to Atlanta from other airports, especially on the East Coast, but also extending to other areas of the country. The FAA notice says that the delays are expected to last through 3:59 p.m. on May 11. How long are the delays? The FAA reported that the average delay people can anticipate is about 35 minutes between 1-2 p.m. Travelers can expect the delay times to shrink as the day progresses, to about 26 minutes between 2-3 p.m. ET, and down to about 11 minutes from 3-4 p.m., according to data posted by the FAA. Atlanta is one of the busiest airports in the U.S.
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Smaller planes, big questions: Why regional airlines are under the spotlight
Regional airlines are in the public consciousness lately in a way that usually only avgeeks think about them. This year, three high-profile aviation safety incidents involved regional jets: a fatal collision between an American Airlines/PSA Airlines jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter near Washington, D.C.; a Delta Air Lines/Endeavor Air regional jet that flipped over just after touching down at Toronto's Lester B. Pearson International Airport, and another Delta/Endeavor Air regional jet that clipped its wing against the runway at LaGuardia International Airport in New York. As a result, many travelers are taking a closer look at their airline tickets and wondering what, exactly, these regional carriers are. At the end of the day, they are regulated the same way as the mainline airlines (American, Alaska, Delta and United) that they're affiliated with, but that doesn't mean they're exactly the same. Here's what you need to know if your next trip involves a regional airline. Regional airlines are carriers that generally operate smaller planes in smaller markets to feed traffic to an airline's hub. The aircraft themselves are often painted to look like part of the major carrier's fleet, and are branded with names like American Eagle, Delta Connection or United Express. Flights under those brands can be operated by a number of companies, which are usually either wholly-owned by the larger airline or under contract with the carrier. 'In today's environment, it is an airline with generally smaller aircraft up to 76 seats that operates on behalf of a major carrier, or in some cases, several major carriers. And they do so in their livery and with their service standards," Robert W. Mann Jr., a former airline executive officer and current president of R.W. Mann and Co., an independent airline consultancy, told USA TODAY. "From the airline's perspective, they want you to have the same experience on an airplane operated by one of their partners as you do on one of their airplanes.' These are the major regional partnerships of U.S. airlines: American Airlines (American Eagle) Envoy Air (wholly owned by American) Piedmont Airlines (wholly owned by American) PSA Airlines (wholly owned by American) Republic Airways (third-party contractor) SkyWest Airlines (third-party contractor) Alaska Airlines Horizon Air (wholly-owned by Alaska) SkyWest Airlines (third-party contractor) Delta Air Lines (Delta Connection) Endeavor Air (wholly-owned by Delta) Republic Airways (third-party contractor) SkyWest Airlines (third-party contractor) United Airlines (United Express) CommuteAir (third-party contractor) GoJet Airlines (third-party contractor) Mesa Airlines (third-party contractor) Republic Airways (third-party contractor) SkyWest Airlines (third-party contractor) For many travelers, it can be easy to miss whether a flight is operated by the main airline or one of its regional partners. Even for the third-party contractors, the airline that sells the ticket does everything from setting the price to processing the charge and likely, handling your check-in. "The average passenger does not realize that they are flying on Endeavor or SkyWest or what have you," William J. McGee, senior fellow for aviation and travel at the American Economic Liberties Project and former airline dispatcher, told USA TODAY. "You are booking on (the major carrier's) branded website, your credit card is charged to that major carrier, you tell the taxi driver or the Uber driver that you are going to that carrier's terminal, everything in the airport is branded with that major carrier's branding." Regional carriers fill what could otherwise be a gap in the aviation network, especially in smaller markets. Decades ago, under a different regulatory framework in the U.S., independent so-called "commuter" carriers often fed traffic to major airlines from smaller cities. When the airline industry was deregulated in the 1970s and 80s, major airlines shifted their network structure and placed greater value on more direct control over those feeder flights. Many of the commuter carriers folded, but the ones that remained evolved into today's regional airlines, according to Mann. Staff at regional airlines are often compensated at lower rates than their mainline counterparts, meaning those flights are frequently cheaper to operate for the larger company. While pilot wages at regional airlines have increased in recent years, cabin crew and ground staff wages are still usually significantly lower. The short answer is yes. According to Mann, regional airlines are under the same regulations as mainline carriers, so there's "a single level of safety" between the two. "I don't have any concerns about flying a regional airline partner," he said. 'It just happens to be a smaller airplane, and generally flown in a smaller market." McGee agreed that he doesn't get nervous flying on regional airlines but acknowledged that he does try to keep things in context. "We all know statistically how safe the system is, but it's incumbent upon us if we want to continue to have a safe system, that we look where there could be problems," he said. "There is a higher accident rate with regionals ... that is a statistical fact that we've had more problems on the regional side." Is flying safe? Here's what the experts say about the number of accidents. Still, McGee doesn't want travelers to worry the next time they fly on a regional jet. He believes it is important for the industry to be transparent about the operator, ensuring that travelers are fully informed about the context of regional flying. Especially after close together, high-profile incidents that involved regional jets, McGee said now's a good time to take a closer look at this aspect of the industry. "Cumulatively, these events indicate that we need to be more watchful than ever as far as standards: as far as aircraft maintenance, as far as piloting standards, all of this," he said. "My two bullets are: there are more problems at the regionals than the mainlines, that's a statistical fact. The other is, we don't want an erosion of standards," so keeping regionals under the same regulations as mainline carriers going forward is an important way to ensure continued safety, according to McGee. Airlines and third-party booking platforms are required to disclose what carrier is operating a flight when you book, though it may not always be obvious or easy to spot on the booking page. For the most part, because onboard service standards tend to be similar, for many travelers, it may not matter who the operator is. "I think a lot of people don't know until they get there, and it's not a 747 they're boarding," Mann said. "The degree of knowledge, especially of infrequent travelers, is limited." As a consumer advocate, McGee expressed hope that airlines will display their disclosures more prominently and that travelers will become better informed about the distinctions between regional and mainline airlines. "In 2025, we still have a long way to go for complete transparency on when you are flying on one of the three mainlines and when you are flying on one of their partners," he said. Zach Wichter is a travel reporter and writes the Cruising Altitude column for USA TODAY. He is based in New York and you can reach him at zwichter@ This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Are regional airlines safe? What passengers should know
