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Detroit flight attendant files $75M lawsuit against Delta Airlines, Endeavor Air over Toronto plane crash

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August 7, 2025 / 5:25 PM EDT / CBS Detroit

A Detroit flight attendant is suing Delta Airlines and Endeavor Air Inc., claiming that the airlines assigned an "inadequately trained pilot to operate the flight" that resulted in a plane crash earlier this year in Toronto, Canada.

An attorney for Vanessa Miles filed the lawsuit on July 28 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, arguing that Miles is entitled to $75 million in damages.

On Feb. 17, 2025, more than 20 people were injured after flight 4819, which took off from the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, flipped upside down while landing at the Toronto Pearson International Airport. Two flight crew members, two cabin crew members and 76 passengers were on the flight. Miles was a passenger and was traveling to Toronto for future work assignments at the time of the crash, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit claims that Delta and Endeavor Air "cut corners on safety by rushing pilots through training programs and knowingly putting passengers at risk with inexperienced flight crew."

CBS News Detroit reached out to Delta for comment on the lawsuit. The airline declined to comment and said it "continues to support the Transportation Safety Board of Canada's ongoing investigation." The board confirmed that it is still investigating and referred CBS News Detroit to its webpage dedicated to the investigation.

Days after the crash, Delta released information about the crew on the flight, denying claims that the captain and first officer had failed training events were false. The company said both crew members were Federal Aviation Administration-certified.

According to the lawsuit, Miles suffered injuries and lost consciousness, finding herself soaked in jet fuel and surrounded by smoke when she regained consciousness. The lawsuit said that because the aircraft was upside down, Miles fell to the ceiling when she unbuckled her seat belt. Her injuries became worse when she attempted to exit the plane and fell roughly 6 to 7 feet to the ground due to emergency slides not being activated.

A preliminary report released on March 20 by the safety board found that as the plane was attempting to land, a piece of the landing gear called the side-stay fractured, causing the gear to retract and the right wing to separate from the fuselage. The report said that jet fuel was released and caused a fire.

The report said that many passengers suffered injuries after they unbuckled their seat belts, but it was not aware of any failures of the safety belts.

The report also found that an emergency locator transmitter — a device that sends distress signals — was armed but did not activate at the time of the accident. The board said the transmitter was sent to the TSB Engineering Laboratory.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5769715&forum_id=2],#49235623)

in the left seat and was the pilot monitoring for the flight. The first officer was seated in the right seat

and was the pilot flying (PF).

The first officer has worked for Endeavor Air since January 2024. She holds an airline transport pilot

certificate issued by the FAA. At the time of the occurrence, she had accumulated 1422.3 hours total

flight time, including 418.7 hours on the aircraft type. The first officer was on day 5 of a 5-day work

cycle. On the day of the occurrence, she had begun the day in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, with a

flight that departed for KMSP at 0819. Upon arrival at KMSP, the first officer had 1 hour and

48 minutes until her next flight. Over the previous 30 days, she had conducted 3 round-trip flights

into and out of CYYZ, not including the occurrence flight. She had flown 56.3 hours in the previous

30 days.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5769715&forum_id=2],#49235625)

“A preliminary report released on March 20 by the safety board found that as the plane was attempting to land, a piece of the landing gear called the side-stay fractured, causing the gear to retract and the right wing to separate from the fuselage. The report said that jet fuel was released and caused a fire.”

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5769715&forum_id=2],#49235701)

It’s the planes fault for breaking after she slammed into the ground.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna197256

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5769715&forum_id=2],#49235770)

At 1412:43.6, the right main landing gear (MLG) contacted the runway. The aircraft was in a 7.5° bank

to the right with 1° of nose-up pitch and 3g vertical acceleration, at a rate of descent of approximately

1098 fpm (18.3 fps).

At touchdown, the following occurred: the side-stay that is attached to the right MLG fractured, the

landing gear folded into the retracted position, the wing root fractured between the fuselage and the

landing gear, and the wing detached from the fuselage, releasing a cloud of jet fuel, which caught fire.

The exact sequence of these events is still to be determined by further examination of the fracture

surfaces.

The aircraft then began to slide along the runway. The fuselage slid down Runway 23, rolling to the

right until it became inverted. A large portion of the tail, including most of the vertical stabilizer and

the entire horizontal stabilizer, became detached during the roll.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5769715&forum_id=2],#49235771)

The FAA allows for reduced minimum hours through the Restricted ATP certificate:

Military Pilots: 750 hours total flight time.

Aviation Bachelor's Degree: 1,000 hours of total flight time for graduates with an aviation major from an approved institution.

The first officer has worked for Endeavor Air since January 2024. She holds an airline transport pilot

certificate issued by the FAA. At the time of the occurrence, she had accumulated 1422.3 hours total

flight time, including 418.7 hours on the aircraft type. The first officer was on day 5 of a 5-day work

cycle. On the day of the occurrence, she had begun the day in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, with a

flight that departed for KMSP at 0819. Upon arrival at KMSP, the first officer had 1 hour and

48 minutes until her next flight. Over the previous 30 days, she had conducted 3 round-trip flights

into and out of CYYZ, not including the occurrence flight. She had flown 56.3 hours in the previous

30 days.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5769715&forum_id=2],#49235783)

btw what type of plane do you own?

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5769715&forum_id=2],#49235835)