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A Delta Air Lines flight of Minneapolis crashed and turned to the track of Toronto Pearson International Airport as he was trying to land on Monday, the last of a series of airplaces passengers since December.
The 80 people aboard the twin plane CRJ900 survived, but 18 people were injured, said Delta.
Monday’s accident follows a few fatal months for plane trips. Earlier this month, 10 people were killed when a regional airplane of the airline crashed in Alaska. Less than three weeks ago, 67 people were killed when an American Airlines plane collided Middair with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter near Washington DC – A disaster preceded by fatal accidents of Jeju Air and D ‘Azerbaijan Airlines in December.
Here is what we know:
All 80 passengers and crew survived
Delta Flight 4819, operated by the Delta subsidiary, Endeavor Air, left Minneapolis / St. Paul International Airport and crashed at Toronto Airport around 2:15 p.m. Monday, said Delta in a press release.
No deaths were reported on Monday evening, but Delta Air Lines and Toronto airport firefighters Todd Aitken said 18 people were injured.
A child was among the injured but is in good condition, the hospital said for sick children in Toronto.
Some of the hospital passengers have been released, said Delta.
“The heart of the entire world family Delta is with people affected by today’s incident at Toronto-Pearson International Airport,” said Delta CEO Ed Bastian. “I want to express my thanks to the many members of the Delta and Endeavour team and the first stakeholders on the spot.”
Deborah Flint, president and chief executive officer of Toronto Pearson International Airport, also credited the “manual response” of the first stakeholders for helping to prevent losses.
Landing hard left the passengers ‘upside down suspended like bats’
Pete Koukov, a Delta plane passenger, said that he “did not know that something was the question” until they touch the ground – which he described as a hard landing.
“We touched the ground, and we were on the side, then we were backwards like bats,” Koukov told Brianna Keilar from CNN.
The images showed that the plane turned with its wheels in the air on a snowy track. The pilot of a medical helicopter in the region described the plane as “upside down and burning”.
Koukov said he was able to unclog his seat belt, push himself to the ground, then get out of the plane, but others needed help from their seats.
“I just feel lucky and happy to be able to give the person I did not know sitting next to me a big hug, that we were going well, and see my friends who are there to pick me up at the airport and their Make a big hug, “he said.
John Nelson, another passenger aboard the flight, said: “It’s incredible that we are still there.”
“When we struck, it was just a super hard – he hit the ground, and the plane went laterally,” said Nelson, adding that he had seen “a big fireball” on the left side of the plane.
He described a scene of “mass chaos” while the passengers tried to unclog and get out of the plane.
“We tried to go out as quickly as possible,” said Nelson. “Even now, I feel fuel at jet.”
Peter Goelz, a CNN Aviation analyst and former director general of the National Transportation Safety Board, said that the Bombardier CRJ900 – The plane that crashed – was built to take a landing, allowing rapid evacuation passengers and crew.
Canadian and American authorities are investigating the cause of the accident
The accident occurred during a burst day in the largest city in Canada after strong snowfall – but the track was dry and there were no wind wind conditions, Aitken, a said the airport firefighters chief.
Winds of 32 mi / h with bursts of 40 MPH blowed in Pearson on Monday, blowing from snow in the air, with a visibility of five miles.
Two tracks in Toronto Pearson will remain closed “for the rest of this evening and in the coming days” while an investigation will take place, said the CEO of the airport.
The Transport Security Council of Canada leads the investigation, with the help of the National Transportation Safety Board in the United States.
US transport secretary Sean Duffy said on X that Federal Aviation Administration investigators were on their way to Toronto, and was in contact with his counterpart in Canada.
The members of the Endeavour Air management team, including CEO Jim Graham, are also on the way to Toronto to cooperate with the investigators, Delta said in a statement.
Taylor Ward de CNN, Tara John, Alexandra Skores, Mitchell McCluskey, Amir Vera, Taylor Romine, Amanda Jackson, Elise Hammond, Pete Muntean and Karina Tsui contributed to the reports.
