TORONTO, CANADA — A Delta flight from Minneapolis to Toronto Pearson International Airport experienced a terrifying incident on Monday afternoon when the aircraft flipped upside down upon landing amidst strong winds and snow. Despite the dramatic crash, all 80 passengers and crew members on board miraculously survived.
The plane, carrying 76 passengers and four crew members, encountered severe weather conditions as it approached the airport. Strong winds and heavy snowfall created challenging conditions for the landing.
While the exact cause of the crash remains under investigation, initial reports suggest the aircraft may have encountered difficulties during the landing process, leading to the dramatic overturn.
Emergency responders swiftly arrived at the scene, extinguishing a fire that erupted after the crash and evacuating passengers from the overturned aircraft. While 18 people sustained injuries and were transported to local hospitals, there were no fatalities reported.
Delta Air Lines issued a statement expressing its relief and prioritizing the well-being of those affected by the incident. The airline is cooperating fully with the ongoing investigation into the cause of the crash, which is being conducted by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.
“We are very grateful there was no loss of life and relatively minor injuries,” Deborah Flint, CEO of the Greater Toronto Airport Authority, told reporters.
This harrowing incident brought operations to a temporary halt at Canada’s busiest airport, raising significant concerns about flight safety, particularly in light of recent aviation accidents in North America. Notably, this crash follows the tragic midair collision between an American Airlines plane and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter in Washington, D.C., which resulted in the loss of all 67 lives on board.
In Toronto, passengers were forced to evacuate the inverted CRJ900 aircraft, navigating a precarious descent through emergency exits. They jumped several feet to the ground, stumbling across the slick tarmac, clutching their belongings.
Endeavor Air, a regional airline operating under the Delta banner, operated the ill-fated flight.
Canadian and American aviation authorities will now collaborate to investigate the factors that contributed to this alarming incident. A comprehensive investigation will involve meticulous analysis of flight data, weather conditions, video footage, and witness testimonies to piece together the events leading up to and following the crash.
Delta Flight 4819 departed Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport on Monday and began its descent towards Toronto Pearson International Airport shortly after 2 p.m. local time.
Toronto had been experiencing strong winds throughout the day, following a weekend snowstorm that had blanketed the airport with approximately 8 inches of snow. Airport crews had worked diligently overnight to clear the runways.
As the aircraft approached Toronto, air traffic controllers alerted the pilots to potential turbulence due to strong wind gusts, reaching approximately 38 mph.
The controller cautioned, “Might be a slight bump in the glide path,” the air traffic worker said. “There will be an aircraft in front of you.”
Within moments, the plane encountered severe turbulence, flipping upside down. A fire erupted as the aircraft impacted the runway, sending a massive fireball into the air. Passengers, including John Nelson and Peter Koukov, described being suspended upside down in their seats.
Koukov, recounting his experience on CNN’s “Erin Burnett Out Front,” stated, “I didn’t know anything was wrong” until the plane struck the ground and felt as if it had veered sideways.
“When we got finished, I was upside down, everybody else was there as well,” Nelson said. “We tried to get out of there as quickly as possible.” He added that once he was out of the plane, there was another explosion but “luckily the firefighters got out of there.”
A medical helicopter flying nearby rerouted its path to assist with the crash. As the helicopter pilots approached, air traffic control workers warned them that people were out and walking around the aircraft, according to LiveATC audio.
“Yeah, we’ve got it. The aircraft is upside down and burning,” the helicopter pilot responded.
Fire engines swiftly converged on the scene, dousing the battered fuselage with thick sheets of white fire retardant. The origin of the fire remains unclear, but video footage reveals significant damage to the aircraft, with melted fiberglass around the engine and thick black streaks marring its side.
Trapped upside down, passengers like Peter Koukov found themselves “hanging like bats.” He managed to unbuckle and stand upright on the aircraft ceiling, while others required assistance to extricate themselves from their seats. John Nelson described the chaotic scene, recalling the urgency of the situation as he and his seatmate unbuckled and scrambled towards an exit, amidst shouts urging them to evacuate.
Peter Carlson, another passenger, poignantly described the experience as “cement and metal,” emphasizing the overwhelming desire to escape the inverted aircraft. He also highlighted the unexpected surge of camaraderie among passengers, as they assisted each other, offered comfort, and navigated the disorienting situation.
“What I saw was everyone on that plane suddenly became very close,” Carlson remarked, acknowledging the powerful sense of unity that emerged in the face of adversity.
Flight attendants guided passengers through the open exit doors, urging them to leave their belongings behind. Despite this, some passengers exited with their bags in tow, as captured in video footage shared by Koukov.
Evacuees jumped from the door frames onto the snow-covered ground, shielding themselves from the wind and the falling fire retardant. As they moved away from the wreckage, a sense of disbelief and shock permeated the scene, with many passengers visibly shaken by the ordeal.
While some passengers sustained injuries, most appeared to have escaped with their lives. However, the experience left a profound impact on many, including John Nelson, who described feeling stressed and shaken by the sudden and terrifying events.
The crash forced Toronto Pearson International Airport to temporarily shut down all five of its runways on Monday afternoon, causing widespread disruption and delays across Canada’s busiest air travel hub. Numerous flights were diverted to nearby airports, including Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, located approximately 300 miles to the east.
Passengers at the airport, whose flights were canceled due to the incident, described the scene as chaotic. “It’s messed up,” one passenger told CBC, adding that it would likely take weeks for the airport to fully recover from the disruption.
“Have you seen luggage in Terminal 1 and Terminal 4? There is luggage everywhere,” lamented Barb Fraser, a passenger awaiting a flight to Vancouver. FlightRadar24 reported that over 200 flights had been canceled by 4:15 p.m. local time.
By around 5 p.m. local time, airport officials announced the reopening of three runways to arriving and departing flights. However, the two runways directly involved in the crash remained closed for several days to allow investigators to conduct a thorough examination of the scene.
The last major aviation accident at Toronto Pearson occurred nearly two decades ago, on August 2, 2005, when an inbound Air France flight from Paris skidded off the runway and caught fire. Miraculously, all 309 passengers and crew members on board survived that incident.
