A Detroit woman is suing Delta Air Lines and its subsidiary, Endeavor Air, for $75 million after surviving a terrifying crash landing that left a plane flipped upside down at Toronto Pearson International Airport.
The plaintiff, Vanessa Miles, is a Delta flight attendant who was off-duty and flying as a passenger on Endeavor Air Flight 4819 on February 17, 2025. The flight had departed from Minneapolis and was operated by Endeavor under the Delta Connection brand.
According to the lawsuit filed by Mike Morse Law Firm in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, the plane came in for landing too fast, dropped violently, and hit the runway with such force that it rolled over and came to rest on its roof.
Miles was knocked unconscious during the impact and woke up hanging upside down from her seatbelt. She was drenched in jet fuel and surrounded by smoke. She unbuckled and fell head-first onto the ceiling of the overturned cabin.
With no emergency announcements or guidance from the crew, and the emergency slides failing to deploy, Miles had to jump from the plane herself, falling nearly 7 feet to the icy tarmac, the lawsuit alleges. The temperature was around 15 degrees, and she was left outside for nearly an hour before receiving medical attention.
Miles was taken to Humber River Health in Toronto, where she was treated for multiple injuries. According to the complaint, she suffered a fractured shoulder, traumatic brain injury, knee and back injuries, and was exposed to jet fuel. She also continues to experience depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit claims Delta and Endeavor knowingly assigned an inexperienced pilot, rushed training, ignored safety alerts, and failed to maintain both the aircraft and its emergency equipment.
The lawsuit also alleges that Delta prioritized speed and cost-cutting over passenger safety, creating a chain of dangerous decisions that led to the crash.
All 80 people on board survived, but at least 21 were reported injured.
