A Delta airplane made an emergency crash landing at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Monday afternoon, flipping upside down on the runway. Thankfully, no fatalities have been reported as of Tuesday morning. Delta confirmed that 18 passengers were taken to local hospitals with injuries.
Delta Connection flight 4819, traveling from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, was operated by Endeavor Air and had 80 people on board, including four crew members and 76 passengers.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian expressed his support for those affected by the incident in a statement Monday evening, saying, “The hearts of the entire global Delta family are with those affected by today’s incident at Toronto-Pearson International Airport. I want to thank Delta and Endeavor team members, as well as the first responders, for their efforts. We are working to confirm the details and will provide updates on news.delta.com as more information becomes available. In the meantime, please take care and stay safe.”
A video from a smartphone, filmed from the cockpit of another plane, shows the CRJ-900 regional jet landing on a snow-covered runway before tipping onto its right side, with its wing fully breaking off before flipping over. Note: The video contains sensitive language.
The Associated Press reported that snow was blowing due to winds reaching up to 40 mph as the aircraft attempted to land. Communication between the plane and the air traffic control tower was normal during the approach, though the tower had warned of a potential air flow “bump” on the approach.
This incident marks the fourth major aviation accident in the U.S. this year. It follows the country’s deadliest commercial aviation disaster since 2001, when American Airlines Flight 5342 collided with a Black Hawk helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, killing all 64 people aboard both aircraft. Less than a week later, an air ambulance crashed in Philadelphia, killing six people onboard and one on the ground. Just days after that, a turboprop operated by Bering Air crashed in Alaska, southeast of Nome, killing all 10 people onboard.
