PSA re: Delta Air Lines Payments to Crash Passengers

You may have seen media reports stating that Delta is offering $30,000 payments to passengers on the aircraft that crashed in Toronto. This is true, but most media won’t say why, and unfortunately, that almost always ignites a bunch of uninformed outrage. These initial payments are standard following airline accidents because PEOPLE INVOLVED IN PAST ACCIDENTS SUGGESTED IT. Forgive me for web shouting, but having been involved with post-accident assistance since it began in the ‘90s, it’s a hot button.

This was one of the survivor/family member recommendations in the 1997 report of the DOT Task Force for Assistance to Families of Aviation Disasters. The rationale is that the family breadwinner could be the person injured or killed and that has immediate financial consequences for many families.

For instance, a man injured in one of the accidents I worked was a truck driver. He burst into tears when he found out about the immediate payment, telling our Care Team that he had been lying in the hospital agonizing over how his family would make their next mortgage payment while he was laid up.

Legally, it’s considered an advance on the eventual settlement and has no strings attached. From the report, which is available online:

 

I'll be flying shortly. I'll take $30K from a crash I can walk away from!

 

I'll be QUITE happy if I never get to collect that check!

 

Thank you for this information. I had no idea of the origin and see the value as you described it.

 

Thanks - knowing another person is informed about this made my day.