Delta plane crash: All injured passengers released from hospital

TORONTO (FOX 9) - All 21 passengers who were injured when a Delta jet from Minneapolis crashed in Toronto have been released from the hospital. 

Delta plane crash passengers released

What they're saying:

Delta Air Lines on Thursday said the 21 passengers who were initially transported to hospitals after the plane crash have been released. 

READ MORE: MN paramedic on crashed plane in Toronto honored at ceremony in Canada

"The Delta and Endeavor families are grateful that all those injured Monday have been released from the hospital, and we extend our thanks to everyone who provided care to them over the past few days," said Delta CEO Ed Bastian. "We will continue to connect one-on-one with customers, employees and loved ones as we move forward to make sure their needs are met with care."

Delta has offered $30,000 to each passenger who was on the flight. 

What happened to Endeavor Flight 4819? 

The backstory:

Delta Connection flight 4819, from Minneapolis to Toronto, made a hard landing before it lost a wing, burst into flames and flipped onto its roof at Toronto’s airport.

RELATED: Delta plane crash: Passenger describes landing of flight 4819 in Toronto

Although 21 people were injured, all 80 people on board survived the crash Monday.

What we know:

Communications between the tower at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport and the pilot were normal on approach and airport officials said Monday was a clear day with normal operations before the crash.

Toronto Pearson Fire Chief Todd Aitken said the runway was dry and there were no crosswind conditions. Audio recordings indicate the control tower warned the pilots of a possible air flow "bump" on the approach. Winds were gusting up to 40 mph (65 kph).

Delta said Thursday morning the crashed aircraft was removed from the runway at the airport on Wednesday. The process took several hours. 

What we don't know:

Investigators and airport officials have been careful to avoid talking about what went wrong when the plane touched down.

Aviation experts said investigators will consider whether the pilot’s actions, potential landing gear problems or weather conditions caused the hard landing.

What's next:

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said the Transportation Safety Board of Canada will lead the investigation. The National Transportation Safety Board in the U.S. was sending a team to assist.

What's the key to surviving a plane crash?

Dig deeper:

Aviation experts said it was not surprising that all 76 passengers and four crew walked away from Monday's disaster. It's a credit, they said, to advances in plane design as well as a crew that flawlessly executed an evacuation plan.

Fuel tanks are stored in the wings, so the wings are designed to break off in a crash to remove a serious explosive hazard, Michael McCormick, an assistant professor and program coordinator for air traffic management at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, said. 

Jeff Guzzetti, an airline safety consultant and a former investigator for the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board, said the seats and seat belts also helped to prevent fatalities. He noted that passenger jet seats are designed to withstand impacts of up to 16 times the force of gravity and that the seat belts restrained the passengers who were suspended upside down as the plane slid to a halt on the runway at Toronto Pearson International Airport.