A Delta Air Lines plane flipped onto its roof while landing at Toronto’s Pearson Airport on Monday, but thankfully, all 80 people on board survived. The airport’s CEO said that while some passengers were injured, most of the injuries were minor.
The flight, which was coming from Minneapolis, had 76 passengers and four crew members. It was attempting to land on a dry runway around 2:15 p.m. when strong winds and snow caused the plane to flip. The cause of the crash is still under investigation.
Video shared on social media showed the aftermath: the plane, a Mitsubishi CRJ-900LR, was flipped over but otherwise appeared intact. Firefighters were seen putting out the remaining flames as passengers walked off the plane and across the tarmac.
“We are very grateful there was no loss of life and only relatively minor injuries,” said Deborah Flint, CEO of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority.
18 passengers were taken to the hospital, including one pediatric patient who was flown to SickKids hospital in Toronto. Two adults were also transported to nearby hospitals.
The crash occurred near the intersection of two runways, not far from the start of the landing strip. Video from the control tower showed medical helicopters already on their way to help.
At the time of the crash, Toronto was experiencing blowing snow and wind gusts of up to 40 mph (65 kph). The temperature was about 16.5°F (around -8.6°C).
“It’s very rare to see something like this,” said John Cox, CEO of Safety Operating Systems, an aviation safety consulting firm. He explained that while plane crashes involving upside-down landings are rare, they have happened before.
Cox also noted that the CRJ-900 aircraft is well-suited for challenging weather, and that pilots are trained to handle situations like this. He pointed out, however, that the missing right wing was a key question that investigators would need to answer.
“There will be questions about what happened to the wing,” Cox said, adding that the flight’s data recorders would help clarify what occurred.
The last major crash at Toronto Pearson was in 2005, when an Air France Airbus A340 skidded off the runway during stormy weather. Luckily, all 309 people on board survived that incident as well.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is leading the investigation into Monday’s crash, with assistance from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford expressed relief that there were no casualties. “Provincial officials are in contact with the airport and local authorities and will provide any help that’s needed,” Ford said.
Delta’s CEO, Ed Bastian, said the airline’s thoughts were with everyone impacted by the incident, while Minnesota Governor Tim Walz confirmed he had been in touch with Delta about the crash.
