A flight attendant has filed a federal lawsuit against Delta and its regional subsidiary, Endeavor Air, alleging gross negligence and violations of international aviation law stemming from a crash landing in Toronto earlier this year.
The suit, filed July 28 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, centers on a Feb. 17 incident involving Endeavor Air Flight 4819. The aircraft, operating as a Delta Connection flight from Minneapolis to Toronto, crashed during landing, allegedly rolling multiple times before coming to rest upside down and later exploding.
The accident remains under investigation.
Plaintiff Vanessa Miles, a Detroit resident and Endeavor flight attendant, was traveling on the flight as a deadheading crew member, meaning she was off duty and occupying a passenger seat.
According to the complaint, Miles was rendered unconscious upon impact, awoke upside down and soaked in jet fuel, and evacuated the aircraft without guidance from the flight crew or functional emergency slides. The plane exploded approximately two minutes after she exited, the filing states.
Numerous Injuries
The lawsuit claims Miles sustained numerous physical and psychological injuries, including a fractured shoulder, traumatic brain injury, and post-traumatic stress disorder. She was hospitalized in Toronto following the accident.
Miles alleges that Delta and Endeavor were strictly liable under the Montreal Convention, which governs international air travel, and were also negligent in assigning an inexperienced pilot to the flight. The complaint cites a preliminary investigation by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, claiming the crew failed to manage the aircraft’s descent, ignored a sink rate warning, and failed to maintain proper thrust and pitch during the final approach.
In addition to safety lapses during flight operations, the complaint accuses the airlines of inadequate emergency preparedness, citing failures in slide deployment, communication, and passenger medical care after the incident. Notably, the CRJ-900 does not have escape slides due to its proximity to the ground.
Miles is seeking damages in excess of $75 million, as well as attorney fees and other relief.
Delta and Endeavor have not publicly responded to the lawsuit.
