FACT CHECK: Does This Video Show Both Pilots of Delta Flight 4819 that Crashed in Toronto Were Women? Was One Named Kendal Swanson?

Was Delta Flight 4819, which crashed and flipped upon landing in Toronto, being piloted by a female-only crew? Social media is abuzz with the claim that the ill-fated Delta flight was being flown by a woman pilot named Kendal Swanson. To support the claim, a photo of a woman pilot was also circulated, which has now gone viral.

However, the claim is not true. Delta Air Lines has clarified that it is not true. The airline company referred to the flight captain as "he" in a statement on the company website, and the first officer as "she." However, the names of the pilots are yet to be released by Delta.

The Wild Claim

The claim first appeared in a video on X on Wednesday, 2025, with a caption that read: "The plane that crashed in Toronto was a Delta flight operated by Endeavor Air, a small airline obsessed with all-female "unmanned" flights." The claim soon went viral, with people sharing it on social media.

The claim was later supported by a photo of a woman pilot, sitting in the cockpit of a plane. Later, it was also claimed that the name of the female pilot was Kendal Swanson.

However, the claim is completely false and baseless. Fact checking site Lead Stories was also issued a statement by Delta Airlines claiming that the rumor was false.

Delta issued the following statement:

"Endeavor Air and Delta are correcting disinformation in social media containing false and misleading assertions about the flight crew of Endeavor Air 4819.

• Captain: Mesaba Airlines, a progenitor company of Endeavor Air, hired the captain in October 2007. 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.

• First Officer: Hired in January 2024 by Endeavor Air and completed training in April. She has been flying for Endeavor since that time. As with any airline pilot, her flight experience exceeded the mandated 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."

Proved Wrong

The pilot was likely a man, as the flight captain is referred to as "he" in a statement on the company website, and the first officer as "she."

Moreover, in an audio recording of Air Traffic Control communication during the plane's landing and eventual crash, several male voices can seemingly be heard. However, officials have not made the crash recording publicly available.

The video featured in the post was originally shared by Endeavor Air on TikTok on March 26, 2022, in celebration of Women's History Month—almost three years before the Flight 4819 crash. Below is a live embed of that video.

Moreover, in an interview with CBS Mornings and posted on Delta's website on February 19, 2025, Delta CEO Ed Bastian said that he was unable to discuss specifics due to the ongoing investigation. When questioned about the pilots' experience and their knowledge of the airport, Bastian replied:

"It was an experienced crew, there's one level of safety at Delta, Chris, between our main line and our regional jets. All these pilots have trained for these conditions. They fly under all kinds of conditions at all the airports in which we operate, so there's nothing specific to expect to experience I'd look to."

Throughout the interview, Bastian did not mention the gender of either pilot.

The TSB is leading the investigation into the crash and has said that it will continue conducting interviews. The agency has also retrieved the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder for further analysis.

So far, none of the four statements released by TSB online have mentioned the pilots' gender. There is no indication that the women featured in the video on X were the pilots of Flight 4819.

On February 17, a Bombardier CRJ-900 operated by Delta Endeavor Air was flying from Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport in Minnesota to Toronto's Lester B. Pearson International Airport in Ontario.

As outlined in the investigation report, the aircraft struck the runway during landing, causing several parts—most notably a wing and the tail section—to detach, triggering a fire. The fuselage, the main section of the plane where passengers sit, flipped over and came to a stop upside down, facing the opposite direction.