A viral Twitter/X post claims Kendal Swanson was the co-pilot of the Delta Airlines plane crash in Toronto
Following the February 17 disaster of Endeavor Air’s Delta Connection Flight 4819 at Toronto Pearson International Airport, allegations emerged that 26-year-old pilot Kendal Swanson, who had just obtained her pilot’s license, was operating the aircraft.
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.
Is Kendal Swanson the co-pilot of Endeavor Air’s Delta Airlines Connection Flight 4819 plane crash in Toronto, Canada
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.
I think I found the Delta/Endeavor Air pilot: Kendal Swanson.
FB post August 2023: "Kendal is on path to reach her hours by December where she will be off to the regionals with Delta Propel. I can’t think of anyone more deserving." pic.twitter.com/uUwW3udZjD
— SoTrumpie (@SoTrumpie) February 19, 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.
✈️ 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
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.
On Thursday night, Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines 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.
Both the captain and first officer work for Delta’s Minneapolis-based and fully owned subsidiary Endeavor Air, and the Delta Air Lines claimed that they have been the target of “false and misleading assertions” on social media.
The Delta Air Lines 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.
According to Delta, the captain 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.
According to an interview with CBS Mornings, “There is one level of safety at Delta,” said Delta CEO Ed Bastian. “All these pilots train for these conditions. This is what we train for. We train for this continuously.”
The Bombardier CRJ900, which was traveling from Minneapolis, had trouble landing and ended up upside down on the runway. All 80 people on board, including 76 passengers and 4 staff members, survived, but 21 were injured; the majority have since been discharged from the hospital. Each passenger will get $30,000 in goodwill payments from Delta Air Lines.
Other related incidents
At St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL), GoJet’s ACRJ-550 (N549GJ) experienced a runway excursion after landing on runway 11 in snowy weather. The aircraft, which was carrying 27 passengers and crew, landed in a patch of grass. No injuries were recorded.
Over the Potomac River close to Washington, D.C., an American Eagle Bombardier CRJ701ER, flying as Flight 5342, collided in midair with a U.S. Army Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. Unfortunately, all 67 people on board both planes died. The Bombardier CRJ700 series was involved with its first deadly accident.
Oh boy. The co-pilot who crash landed the Delta plane has been identified as Kendal Swanson, a beauty pageant winner out of Minnesota who was only recently licensed to fly this plane. 😬 pic.twitter.com/BXNEpmCje4
— Shannon Hill (@ShannonMFHill) February 20, 2025