Toronto Airport Miracle: All Passengers Safe Despite Plane’s Upside-Down Crash Landing
Watch: Passenger films his escape from upside-down crashed plane
All 80 individuals aboard a Delta Air Lines flight that crashed and flipped over while attempting to land in Toronto have survived, officials reported. The CRJ900 aircraft, manufactured by Bombardier and operating for Delta’s subsidiary Endeavor Air, skidded along the runway with flames visible before coming to an inverted stop as firefighters rushed to assist.
Survivors described being suspended upside down in their seats during the crash. They had to release themselves from their restraints and drop onto the ceiling of the overturned aircraft before scrambling out through the snow-covered tarmac. Eighteen people were injured, though only a small number are thought to be seriously hurt.
Investigators are currently examining what caused the incident, which occurred at approximately 14:15 ET (19:15 GMT) on Monday. There were seventy-six passengers and four crew members aboard the sixteen-year-old aircraft.
In an evening briefing, Deborah Flint of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority praised emergency personnel for their swift response and credited them with ensuring no loss of life in what she described as a “textbook” operation. The airport was closed following the crash but flights into and out of Toronto Pearson were resumed around 17:00 local time.
Canada’s Transportation Safety Board (TSB) is working to gather information about the occurrence, with two runways remaining closed for several days pending investigation. Passengers have been advised that they should expect some delays as a result.
Toronto Pearson Fire Chief Todd Aitken stated that “the runway was dry and there were no cross-wind conditions” at the time of the crash, which contradicted earlier reports of wind gusts exceeding 64km/h (40mph) and strong crosswinds. Video footage shared on social media showed people evacuating from the overturned aircraft as fire crews sprayed it with foam.
John Nelson told CNN that there were no signs of anything unusual before landing, only mentioning a skid followed by an upside-down flip and flames visible out the left side of the plane. Ashley Zook also shared her experience on social media, expressing disbelief at having just experienced a plane crash.
The eighteen people taken to hospital suffered varying degrees of injury; one child, as well as a man in his sixties and a woman in her forties, were reported to have suffered more severe injuries. The airport’s arrival and departure boards showed multiple flight delays and cancellations following the incident.
James and Andrea Turner shared that they had been waiting at customs when told to evacuate suddenly. They noted that all passengers from customs through security areas were evacuated before being returned to a general area, causing overcrowding in the departures hall.
Toronto Pearson Airport had been dealing with weather-related delays due to heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures over the past few days. Two storms on Wednesday and Sunday covered parts of Ontario with thirty to fifty centimeters (eleven-point-eight to nineteen-point-six inches) of snow. However, CBS reports that there was only light snow falling at the time of the crash.
Earlier in the day, Toronto Pearson had warned about “frigid temperatures and high winds” moving into the area and expected a busy day as airlines attempted to catch up following last weekend’s significant snowstorm.
The incident marks at least the fourth major aviation event in North America over the past month. The deadliest was an in-air collision between a passenger plane and a military helicopter near Washington, DC, which resulted in all sixty-seven people on board perishing.
