All of the 76 passengers and four crew survived what could have been a disastrous crash at Toronto’s pearson Airport after snowy winds reaching 40mph prevented the plane from landing safely
Toronto plane crash: CCTV captures moment of impact
This is the terrifying moment a Delta Air Lines plane flipped on its roof while landing.
Despite the aircraft flipping completely, all 80 people on board miraculously survived and those who were hurt only sustained minor injuries, according to the chief executive of Toronto’s Pearson Airport. The clip shows the plane coming in to land at a high speed before it crashes into the snow and tarmac, sending a huge cloud of dirt up around the nose of the aircraft.
As it bounces off the ground, the plane is seen twisting on to its left wing as it is flipped completely on to its roof. Snow blown by winds gusting to 40 mph (65 kph) swirled when the flight from Minneapolis carrying 76 passengers and four crew attempted to land at around 2:15 p.m. Communications between the tower and pilot were normal on approach and it’s not clear what went so drastically wrong when the plane touched down.
Peter Carlson, a passenger traveling to Toronto for a paramedics conference, said the landing was “very forceful.” “All the sudden everything just kind of went sideways and then next thing I know it’s kind of a blink and I’m upside down still strapped in,” he told CBC News.
Canadian authorities held two brief news conferences but provided no details on the crash. Video posted to social media showed the aftermath with the Mitsubishi CRJ-900LR overturned, the fuselage seemingly intact and firefighters dousing what was left of the fire as passengers climbed out and walked across the tarmac.
“We are very grateful there was no loss of life and relatively minor injuries,” Deborah Flint, CEO of Greater Toronto Airports Authority, told reporters. Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in a statement that “the hearts of the entire global Delta family are with those affected.”
Toronto Pearson Fire Chief Todd Aitken said 18 passengers were taken to the hospital. Earlier in the day, Ornge air ambulance said it was transporting one pediatric patient to Toronto’s SickKids hospital and two injured adults to other hospitals in the city.
Emergency personnel reached the plane within a few minutes and Aitken said the response “went as planned.” He said “the runway was dry and there was no cross-wind conditions.”
The crash was the fourth major aviation accident in North America in the past three weeks. A commercial jetliner and an Army helicopter collided near Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 29, killing 67 people. A medical transportation plane crashed in Philadelphia on Jan. 31, killing the six people on board and another person on the ground. And on Feb. 6, 10 people were killed in a plane crash in Alaska.