The accident has raised major concerns about air safety, especially as it is the fourth major air incident in North America in a month. Pearson Airport, Canada’s largest, was forced to suspend all flights for several hours, causing hundreds of cancellations and delays.
A Delta Air Lines plane carrying 80 passengers and crew overturned while landing at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport on Monday afternoon amid strong winds and snowfall. Firefighters were called to the scene shortly after the crash to extinguish flames that erupted around the crashed plane. Despite the dramatic scene, everyone on board survived. It remains unclear how the plane ended up upside down on the runway, its underside covered in soot and one of its wings badly damaged. Inside the cabin, passengers strapped in by seat belts were left hanging from their seats.
According to Delta, there were no fatalities from the accident. Toronto Airport Fire Chief Todd Aitken confirmed that 18 people were injured and taken to hospital, including a child, who is in good condition. Meanwhile, the Peel Regional Ambulance Service reported a lower number of injuries, citing 15 people.
PANIC MOMENTS AND EMERGENCY EVACUATION
The plane, identified as Delta Airlines Flight 4819, had departed Minneapolis and was approaching Toronto at around 14:00 p.m. local time. At the time, strong winds were gusting up to 61 km/h, and the runway had been cleared of about 20 centimeters of snow that had fallen over the weekend. Just moments before landing, air traffic controllers warned the pilots about strong winds, but within two minutes the plane had flipped over. A huge fire broke out as the plane spun and hit the runway, creating a ball of flame.
Passengers experienced moments of panic as they were left hanging upside down from their seats.
“It was a real chaos,” said one of the passengers, Peter Koukov. “When we realized what had happened, we were all upside down. Some passengers managed to unbuckle their seat belts and stand on the ceiling of the cabin.” Fortunately, the crew managed to organize an evacuation, helping passengers out through the emergency exits. Footage shows people jumping out of the plane door onto the snow-covered ground, as firefighters continued to spray foam to put out the flames.
INVESTIGATIONS AND IMPACT ON AIR TRAFFIC
The crash has raised concerns about air safety, especially as it is the fourth major air incident in North America in a month. Pearson Airport, Canada’s largest, was forced to suspend all flights for several hours, causing hundreds of cancellations and delays. Canadian and American officials have already launched investigations to determine the cause of the accident. Endeavor Air, a Regional carrier that operates for Delta, confirmed that it is cooperating with authorities to investigate the incident. It was the worst accident at Toronto’s airport since 2005, when an Air France plane skidded off the runway and burst into flames, but fortunately all passengers survived.
