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Deborah Flint, CEO of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority, confirmed that all those on board a flight that crashed and overturned while landing at Toronto Pearson Airport survived. “We are grateful that there were no fatalities, with only minor injuries reported,” Flint said, expressing relief over the outcome.
Emergency services reported that one child and two adults sustained critical injuries in the crash. Social media images showed the plane flipped on its roof on the snow-covered tarmac, with at least one wing missing. The incident involved a Delta Air Lines flight from Minneapolis, with 80 people on board, 76 of whom were passengers and 4 crew members, according to Toronto Pearson Airport.
A total of eighteen passengers were sent to the hospital for medical care. Ornge, Ontario’s air ambulance service, quickly mobilized three helicopters and two ambulances to the scene to ensure prompt transportation and care for the injured.
Among the critically injured were a child, a man in his 60s, and a woman in her 40s. In her evening update, Ms. Flint lauded the emergency response, describing it as “textbook” and highlighting how it helped prevent loss The US Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that Delta Air Lines Flight 4819, operated by Endeavor Air, was the plane involved in the crash. Delta verified that the CRJ900 aircraft was involved in the incident at approximately 14:15 ET (19:15 GMT) on Monday afternoon.
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Twenty-two passengers are Canadian and the rest are “multinational”, Ms Flint said. The airport was closed shortly after the incident, but flights into and out of Toronto Pearson resumed at about 17:00 local time, the airport said.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada said it was deploying a team to “gather information and assess the occurrence”. Two runways will remain closed for several days for investigation and passengers have been told to expect some delays.
Toronto Pearson fire chief Todd Aitken said on Monday night that while it was early in the investigation, they could say “the runway was dry and there was no cross-wind conditions”. That contradicts earlier reports of wind gusts of more than 64km/h (40mph) and a crosswind.
Video footage shared on social media shows people clambering out of the overturned aircraft, with fire crews spraying it with foam. “We’re in Toronto, we just landed. Our plane crashed, it’s upside down,” said one man as he filmed a video taken from outside the upturned plane.
The video shows passengers being helped out of the plane’s doors by airport staff, with some then running away from the plane’s entrance.
“Most people appear to be OK. We’re all getting off, there’s some smoke going on,” he can be heard saying.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said provincial officials were in contact with the airport and local authorities and would provide any help needed.
