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A Delta Airlines plane crash-landed at Toronto’s Pearson Airport, injuring 17. The flight from Minneapolis overturned on an icy runway, with three critically injured. Passengers recall the horror
While the cause of the incident is still under investigation, weather conditions are being considered as a possible factor. (AP File)
A Delta Airlines plane crash-landed at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport on Monday, injuring at least 17 people. There were 80 people on board the plane, including 76 passengers and four crew members.
According to a CBC report, Delta Flight 4819 slipped on the icy runway and overturned. The plane took off from Minneapolis at 11:47 am. Images shared online show the Mitsubishi CRJ-900LR plane upside down.
According to Ontario’s air ambulance service ‘Ornge’, three patients have been admitted to a hospital in Ontario and are in a critical condition. This includes a child, a 60-year-old man, and a 40-year-old woman.
Three helicopters and two critical care ground ambulances were deployed to the scene. The accident happened when a powerful storm affected the area over the weekend.
According to the report, about nine inches of snowfall occurred at the airport. Maintenance teams worked diligently until Sunday night to clear the runway.
“We are aware of an incident involving an arriving Delta Airlines aircraft from Minneapolis. Emergency crews are on scene. All passengers and crew are accounted for,” Toronto Pearson Airport said in a statement on X.
After the plane crash, Pete Kukov, a passenger on board the plane, said that he did not know anything was amiss until he hit the ground.
“We hit the ground, the plane had turned over and we were hanging upside down like bats,” a CNN report quoted Kukov as saying. Kukov shared that he was able to open his seatbelt, get down, and then get out of the plane. However, many passengers needed assistance to be removed from their seats.
“I consider myself lucky and fortunate. I didn’t know the person I was sitting next to, but I got a chance to hug him. My friends came to pick me up at the airport, whom I hugged,” he added.
Another passenger named John Nelson said that he did not realise anything was wrong with the plane. He described his flight as normal. He said that as soon as he reached Toronto, he saw a lot of snow on the runway.
“When we hit the runway, there was a strong shock. After the collision, the plane went to the side,” he further said.
Nelson said that a large fireball was seen on the left side of the plane, adding that he was sitting in the 10th row of the plane. He said that once the plane stopped, he heard the passengers screaming.
While the cause of the incident is still under investigation, weather conditions are being considered as a possible factor. The airport was experiencing blowing snow, strong winds gusting up to 65 kilometers per hour, and temperatures around minus 8.6 degrees Celsius at the time of the landing.
Audio recordings from the airport tower reveal the flight was cleared to land around 2:10 pm local time and was cautioned about potential turbulence from a preceding aircraft. Aviation experts have noted the rarity of such incidents, particularly during landing.
John Cox, CEO of Safety Operating Systems and an experienced pilot, highlighted the CRJ-900 aircraft’s strong safety record and ability to handle challenging weather. He emphasized the importance of determining the reason behind the missing right wing, as it could have significantly contributed to the plane flipping over.
The investigation, led by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada with assistance from US investigators, will focus on retrieving and analyzing the flight data and cockpit voice recorders to understand the sequence of events.
This incident marks the fourth major aviation mishap in North America in the past month. Canadian officials, including Ontario’s Premier Doug Ford, have expressed relief that there were no casualties and pledged support to the investigation and those affected.
