A viral Twitter/X post claims James was the name of the pilot and Kendal Swanson of the co-pilot of the Delta Airlines flight involved in plane crash in Toronto
On Thursday night, Atlanta-based Delta Airlines issued a restricted statement regarding the piloting crew of Flight 4819, stating that the airline wanted to rectify false information that was going around the internet regarding Monday’s aircraft disaster.
Is James the pilot of the Delta Airlines Flight 4819 involved in plane crash in Toronto as Kendal Swanson is claimed of being co-pilot and Hollie and Rebecca flight attendants
✈️ The Delta/Endeavor plane that crashed was piloted by Kendal Swanson.
A year ago, she was an instructor pilot for a small propellor aircraft. Recently licensed to co-pilot a small jet.
Captain, who had a questionable record himself, may have erred trusting her to land the… pic.twitter.com/d6chYkPRg6
— Houman David Hemmati, MD, PhD (@houmanhemmati) February 19, 2025
Details from the FAA data were among the many posts on social media, despite the fact that the assertions are still unverified. Interestingly, Endeavour Air has not yet disclosed the identities of the pilots operating the Bombardier CRJ900. On the other hand, Delta claimed on Wednesday that the pilots operating the aircraft were skilled. However, few posts that appeared to identify one of the pilot as Kendal Swanson, though went viral on social media platforms, claiming she was a pilot with little experience.
While the airline didn’t confirm if Kendal was the co-pilot, it released a statement on the unnamed co-pilot’s credentials saying, “She has been flying for Endeavor since that time. Her flight experience exceeded the minimum requirements set by U.S. Federal regulations. Assertions that she failed training events are false.”
Both crew members are qualified and FAA certified for their positions, the statement added but Delta and Endeavor did not name the two employees.
🚨BREAKING: Kendal Swanson, a 26-year-old woman, allegedly crashed a Delta flight upside down in Toronto, raising concerns about inexperienced pilots in major airlines, as pilots once needed 1,000 hours of rigorous flying. Swanson had only 250 hours of flight time, prompting… pic.twitter.com/ou6HET3Hck
— Unknown Ruler (@unknownruler8) February 21, 2025
“The Delta/Endeavor plane that crashed was piloted by Kendal Swanson,” one user wrote. “A year ago, she was an instructor pilot for a small propellor aircraft. Recently licensed to co-pilot a small jet. Captain, who had a questionable record himself, may have erred trusting her to land the plane.”
A viral post claimed that the co-pilot of the Delta flight was age 26 Kendal Swanson and she was recently licensed to co-pilot a small jet and the post on Twitter/X said she was only the co-pilot and the captain may have erred in trusting her to land the plane. Some posts also claimed that Kendal Swanson was a beauty pageant winner in Minnesota. She is also a certified flight instructor at The University of North Dakota.
However, this is yet to be confirmed with it just a rumor for now that Kendal Swanson was flying the plane.
According to the screenshot attached to the viral post, the PIC (pilot in command) was James and the FO (First Officer) was Kendal and the flight attendants were Hollie and Rebecca and while Delta didn’t reveal the names of the staff, it said the pilots on that flight were very experienced.
Both the captain and first officer work for Delta’s Minneapolis-based and fully owned subsidiary Endeavor Air, and the Delta Airlines claimed that they have been the target of “false and misleading assertions” on social media.
The Delta Airlines crew members of the aircraft that took off from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and crashed at a Toronto airport on Monday afternoon were not identified in the airline statement released on Thursday.
The name of the DEI Delta Pilot who almost killed hundreds of people due to her lack of experience with strong wind shear and winter flying conditions is Kendal Swanson
Let the lawsuits begin pic.twitter.com/SIVZVFk5OX
— Henry Jackson (@henryj8kson) February 20, 2025
According to Delta, the skipper was brought on board in October 2007. In addition to pilot training and flight safety positions, he has served as duty captain.
The first officer was hired in January 2024 and finished her flight training in April. According to Delta, she has flown for Endeavor ever since and has surpassed the federal government’s required minimum criteria.
Whether the pilot or first officer was in control of the CRJ-900 aircraft when it crashed on Monday was not disclosed.
According to Delta Air Lines, the captain and first officer in question were falsely accused of lacking proper training.
“Mesaba Airlines, a progenitor company of Endeavor Air, hired the captain in October 2007,” the release said.
“He has served both as an active duty Captain and in pilot training and flight safety capacities. Assertions that he failed training events are false. Assertions that he failed to flow into a pilot position at Delta Air Lines due to training failures are also false.”
According to the business, the Federal Aviation Administration has certified and qualified both members.
During an appearance on a media platform earlier this week, Delta CEO Ed Bastian said that the crew had expertise flying in cold weather.
Officials reported primarily minor bodily injuries, and all 76 passengers and four crew members survived.
The crash investigation is being led by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada. The cause has not been disclosed. Late on Wednesday, the wrecked aircraft was removed from the disaster scene.
According to aviation experts, authorities are likely to consider piloting, weather, and mechanical failure as possible causes.
A preliminary assessment on the disaster might be finished in roughly 30 days. The TSB frequently looks at cases that have been open for more than a year.