TORONTO, Canada. A Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) regional jet flipped upside down upon landing at Toronto Pearson Airport on Monday, injuring 18 of the 80 people on board. Officials confirmed that the incident occurred amid strong winds and harsh weather conditions following a heavy snowstorm.
Flight DL4819, which departed from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, landed at 2:13 p.m. local time (1913 GMT) but lost control upon touchdown. Among the injured, three passengers—including a child—suffered critical injuries and were transported to the hospital via air ambulance. The remaining 15 injured individuals received medical attention, with some later released, according to a statement from Delta.
The aircraft involved, a 16-year-old CRJ900 operated by Delta’s Endeavor Air subsidiary, had 76 passengers and four crew members on board. Manufactured by Canada’s Bombardier (BBDb.TO) and powered by GE Aerospace (GE.N) engines, the CRJ900 has a seating capacity of up to 90 passengers. Video footage from the accident site revealed at least one wing detached from the fuselage.
John Nelson, a passenger on board, shared a video of the aftermath on Facebook, showing emergency responders dousing the overturned aircraft with water. Recalling the terrifying moments before the crash, he told CNN:
“We hit the ground, and we were sideways, and then we were upside down. I was able to just unbuckle and sort of fall and push myself to the ground. And then some people were kind of hanging and needed some help being helped down, and others were able to get down on their own.”
The landing took place during adverse weather conditions, with reported gusting crosswinds and blowing snow at the time. However, Toronto Pearson Fire Chief Todd Aitken later stated that the runway was dry and that no crosswind conditions were present. This statement was met with skepticism from several pilots who reviewed footage of the incident.
Aviation safety expert and pilot John Cox analyzed the crash, stating:
“There was an average crosswind of 19 knots (22 mph) from the right as the plane landed. It’s gusty, so pilots had to constantly adjust airspeed, vertical profile, and lateral profile. That’s normal for professional pilots.”
Investigators will focus on determining why the right wing separated from the aircraft. Michael J. McCormick, associate professor of air traffic management at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, noted that while planes flipping on landing are rare, the survival of all 80 passengers underscores advancements in engineering and aviation safety regulations.
“The fact that 80 people survived an event like this is a testament to the engineering and the technology, the regulatory background that would go into creating a system where somebody can actually survive something that not too long ago would have been fatal.”
Aircraft flipping over on landing is uncommon, but previous cases have occurred, primarily involving the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 model. Notable incidents include a 2009 FedEx freighter crash at Tokyo’s Narita Airport that killed both pilots, a 1999 China Airlines crash in Hong Kong that claimed three lives, and a 1997 FedEx freighter accident in Newark with no fatalities.
Toronto Pearson Airport resumed flight operations, but some delays and disruptions are expected as two runways remain closed for the ongoing investigation. Airport President Deborah Flint commended the swift response of emergency crews:
“We are very grateful that there is no loss of life and relatively minor injuries.”
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) has deployed a team of investigators, while the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has also committed to assisting. As per international aviation standards, a preliminary report on the crash will be released within 30 days.
Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (7011.T), which acquired the CRJ aircraft program from Bombardier in 2020, acknowledged the incident and pledged full cooperation with the investigation.
This accident follows a series of recent North American aviation incidents, including a fatal Army helicopter collision with a CRJ-700 in Washington, D.C., a medical transport plane crash in Philadelphia that killed seven people, and a passenger jet crash in Alaska that resulted in ten fatalities.
Authorities are expected to release more details as the investigation progresses.
Gary P Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
- Gary P Hernalhttps://tutubi.ph/author/gary-hernal/
- Gary P Hernalhttps://tutubi.ph/author/gary-hernal/
- Gary P Hernalhttps://tutubi.ph/author/gary-hernal/
- Gary P Hernalhttps://tutubi.ph/author/gary-hernal/
