SHOCKING pictures showed the moment a Delta airliner crash landed as it made its descent in Toronto, leaving the commercial airplane belly-up on the tarmac.
Jaw-dropping photos from the runway at Toronto Pearson International Airport showed passengers crawling out of the airplane, which arrived in Canada from Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Monday afternoon.
A shocking photo showed a Delta airliner belly-up on the tarmac after crash landing as it made its descent in TorontoFacebook / John Nelson
A passenger filmed the Delta airplane sitting upside down on the runway at Toronto Pearson International Airport in CanadaFacebook / John Nelson
The Delta Airlines flight was making its descent into Toronto from Minneapolis, MinnesotaFacebook / John Nelson
First responders work at the Delta Air Lines plane crash site at Toronto Pearson International AirportReuters
Footage posted on X showed emergency responders assisting passengers off the airplane, which sat upside down.
“We’re in Toronto, we just landed,” the passenger said in the video just several feet away from the crashed airliner.
“Our plane crashed. It’s upside down. Fire department is on site. Upside down.
“Most people appear to be okay. We are all getting off. Some stuff going on.”
Despite the shocking scene, all 80 passengers and crew members have been accounted for, according to a preliminary statement by the Federal Aviation Administration obtained by CNN.
Peel Regional Police told The U.S. Sun that at least 15 people were being treated for injuries.
Two were airlifted to local trauma centers, and one child was taken to a children’s hospital.
The injuries of the victims were described as critical but non-life-threatening.
Delta Air Lines said it’s aware that one of its airplanes was involved in an accident.
“Delta is aware of reports of Endeavor Flight 4819 operating from Minneapolis/St. Paul to Toronto-Pearson International Airport as involved in an incident,” the company said in a statement.
“We are working to confirm any details and will share the most current information on news.delta.com as soon as it becomes available.”
The cause of the crash has not been determined.
The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered the closure of all runways at Toronto Pearson International Airport.
The National Transportation Safety Board is assisting the Transportation Safety Board of Canada with investigating the crash.
Aviation expert on Toronto plane crash
Scott Keyes, founder and chief flight expert at the Going travel app, shared insights with The U.S. Sun following the Delta plane crash at Torotno Pearson International Airport on February 17.
Regarding the cause of the Toronto plane crash:
“It’s too early to speculate what precisely happened, I’m afraid. It’s certainly safe to call it a “freak accident” and that may be understating just how rare a scene like this is. An inverted passenger plane is something moviegoers saw in Denzel Washington’s 2012 film Flight—not something we see in reality until today.”
Regarding smaller jets having been involved in recent crashes:
“While it’s certainly unexpected to have two major incidents in a row take place on small aircraft, it’s not totally shocking. Around one-third of commercial aircraft in the US are smaller planes like the Delta CRJ seen today. We’ll wait and see for the investigators’ report, but given the differing circumstances of Toronto and DCA, I think it’s highly unlikely that this is a built-in aircraft issue similar to what we saw with successive 737 MAX crashes.”
Regarding air travel safety:
“You are far, far more likely to get in an accident on your drive to the airport than on your flight from the airport. On a per-mile basis, your mortality risk in a car is over 100 times higher than in a passenger plane. The fact that incidents like these grab so much attention is because of their rarity.”
— Scott Keyes, founder and chief flight expert at the Going travel app
‘UPSIDE DOWN AND BURNING’
Hours before the plane crash occurred, Toronto Pearson International Airport shared a post on X of its ongoing snow removal on its airfield.
“Our crews worked all weekend to keep the roughly 5 million square metres of airfield clear of snow to keep planes arriving and departing safely,” the airport said.
The Toronto region was battered heavy snowfall over the weekend and strong wind gusts of up to 40 mph at the city’s airport on Monday.
A medical helicopter that was in the area and offered to help after the Delta airplane crash landed described seeing the aircraft “upside down and burning.”
“LifeFlight 1, Medevac, just so you are aware there are people outside walking around the aircraft there,” an air traffic controller worker told the helicopter pilot, according to LiveATC audio obtained by CNN.
“Yeah, we’ve got it. The aircraft is upside down and burning,” the helicopter pilot responded.
AERIAL HORROR
The harrowing incident comes weeks after an American Airlines plane collided mid-air with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter in Washington DC on the evening of January 29.
The American Airlines airplane crashed into the Black Hawk helicopter as the commercial airliner was making its descent into Reagan International Airport, plunging both into the icy waters of the Potomac River.
All 64 passengers and crew members onboard the American Airlines flight and the three soldiers onboard the Black Hawk helicopter died.
The incident marked the deadliest aviation crash in the United States since February 2009, when a Colgan Air plane crashed near Buffalo, New York, killing all 49 passengers and crew members onboard.
First responders assisted passengers off the plane after it crash landed on the runwayFacebook / John Nelson
The cause of the crash has not been determinedReuters Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
