‘I was sure we were going to die’: Delta passenger shaken by Pearson crash landing

Nate Richie’s plane ride last week to Toronto was “uneventful” — until it wasn’t.

Richie, who was one of 76 passengers on the Delta Air Lines flight that crash landed at Toronto Pearson International Airport last week, said that incident shook him to the point where he decided it was worth the four-day drive to him Florida home rather than fly.

“The plane started wobbling and sliding sideways and that’s when I knew we were in trouble. My first thought was we’re going to slide off the runway into a field,” he told Global News.

“There was a lot of screaming, loud noise from the wing that was ripped off and exploded. … You lose track of time but my immediate thoughts went to my wife, my children, my grandchildren, my mom.”

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada continues to lead the investigation into the cause of Delta’s Endeavor Flight 4819 crash, which happened in the afternoon on Feb. 18.

All 76 passengers and four crew members survived when the plane, arriving from Minneapolis, skidded on the tarmac and burst into flames.

Richie told Global News there was “a lot of confusion” inside the cabin at that time.

“We were obviously inverted. We’re hanging upside down in our seats. … The only thing you could do was to release your seatbelt and drop,” he said.

He added while he was helping other inverted passengers get out of their seats, he started to smell jet fuel.

“You could see it running down the windows of the plane, almost like rain. You could see it pooled up outside the window as if we were like laying in water,” Richie said.

“At that point, I was sure that we were going to die, that we were not getting off the plane.”

Richie credited the flight attendants with “jumping into action,” and said everyone helped each other to get off the plane.

After calling his wife to let her know what had happened and that he was OK, Richie said he and the other passengers gathered near a fire truck and huddled together in the frigid cold.

“My headache was just so severe, my neck pain, my back pain .. and they did put me into a collar and take me to the hospital for a series of exams and tests and scans,” he said.

In the wake of the crash, Delta has offered each passenger on board the flight that crashed US$30,000.

Delta Care Team representatives told customers that the offer “has no strings attached and does not affect rights.” Richie has retained a lawyer, who called that offer from Delta ‘distasteful.‘

“He was banged up in a severe airplane accident, doused in jet fuel, flipped over, inverted,” said Florida attorney Ardalan Montazer.

“He got knocked unconscious. His head hit the ground when he got out of that seatbelt. And they value him at $30,000.”

Several lawsuits have been filed in the United States, and Canadian passengers have also retained a lawyer in Toronto.

“Our goal is to get Nate treatment. He has physical injuries. He has mental injuries,” Montazer said.

“His job relied on him travelling. And he can’t do that right now or ever, possibly.”

The investigation into why the crash occurred continues with crews from the Transportation Safety Board taking the lead, supported by the National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA.

“We look to hold whoever’s responsible accountable, whether it’s Delta, the pilots, the manufacturer. That’s all going to come out in an investigation. But again, first and foremost, Nate’s mental and physical well-being is what’s important and what we’re focusing on right now,” Montazer said.

Richie said he and his wife planned to travel overseas this summer, but he has cancelled the trip. He said the emotional aftermath of the crash is what he is struggling with most.

“I was in the Persian Gulf War twice in the early 90s .. the last time I remember these kinds of feelings was when I came back from the war and it’s something I wouldn’t wish on anybody,” he said.

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