Toronto, Canada – A Delta Air Lines regional jet flipped onto its roof while attempting to land at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Monday, with all 80 passengers and crew surviving despite the dramatic crash. Emergency responders swiftly evacuated the aircraft, and those injured sustained relatively minor wounds, according to airport officials.
Harsh Weather and Unclear Cause:The incident occurred at 2:15 p.m. local time, as the Delta flight from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was attempting to land amid heavy snowfall and strong winds. The Mitsubishi CRJ-900LR, a regional jet operated by Endeavor Air, appeared to lose control upon touchdown, veering off the runway before overturning.
Weather reports indicated winds gusting up to 40 mph (65 kph) and temperatures at -8.6°C (16.5°F), creating challenging conditions for landing. However, airport officials reported that the runway was dry and no crosswind conditions were present at the time.
“We are very grateful that there was no loss of life and that injuries were relatively minor,” said Deborah Flint, CEO of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority.
Eyewitness Accounts and Emergency Response
Passengers described a terrifying moment of impact followed by immediate efforts by the crew to evacuate the aircraft. Video footage from the aftermath, widely shared on social media, showed the plane upside down with its fuselage intact, while emergency crews extinguished remaining flames.
Toronto Pearson Fire Chief Todd Aitken confirmed that 18 people were taken to hospitals for further evaluation. An air ambulance transported one child to Toronto’s SickKids Hospital, while two injured adults were sent to other medical facilities.
Emergency teams arrived at the crash site within minutes, executing a response that “went as planned,” according to Aitken. However, one notable concern emerged when reports indicated that the plane had lost its right wing before coming to rest at the intersection of Runways 23 and 15L.
Investigation Underway
The Transportation Safety Board (TSB) of Canada has taken charge of the investigation, with assistance from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Investigators will analyze the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder to determine the cause of the crash.
Aviation safety expert John Cox, CEO of Safety Operating Systems, noted that the CRJ-900 is a well-tested aircraft designed to withstand harsh weather conditions. However, he said it was highly unusual for a plane to overturn in such circumstances.
“If one wing is missing, the aircraft would have a tendency to roll over,” Cox explained. “That will be a key question in the investigation—what happened to the right wing, and did it detach before or after impact?”
Aviation Safety Concerns
This accident marks the fourth major aviation incident in North America in just three weeks. Other recent crashes include:
- Jan. 29 – A midair collision between a commercial jetliner and an Army helicopter near Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., which killed 67 people.
- Jan. 31 – A medical transport plane crash in Philadelphia, killing six people on board and one person on the ground.
- Feb. 6 – A plane crash in Alaska that resulted in 10 fatalities.
The last major accident at Toronto Pearson International Airport occurred on Aug. 2, 2005, when Air France Flight 358, an Airbus A340 arriving from Paris, skidded off the runway and burst into flames. All 309 passengers and crew survived that crash.
Delta, FAA, and Political Reactions
Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian issued a statement expressing relief that all passengers and crew members survived, adding that the airline is fully cooperating with investigators.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz confirmed that he has been in direct contact with Delta regarding the crash, given that the flight originated from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
Endeavor Air, a Minneapolis-based subsidiary of Delta, operates 130 CRJ-900 aircraft and conducts 700 daily flights across the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean. The CRJ-900 is part of the Bombardier-designed CRJ family, a widely used model for regional air travel.
Ongoing Developments
As investigators piece together what went wrong, flights at Toronto Pearson continued with delays, and authorities urged passengers to check their flight status. The runway where the crash occurred remains closed for debris removal and forensic examination.
Despite the severe impact, the safe evacuation of all 80 aboard has been hailed as a near-miraculous outcome in what could have been a much deadlier aviation disaster.
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