At least 18 injured as Delta plane flips upside down in Toronto crash
The Delta Air Lines jet carrying 80 passengers crash-landed at Toronto's main airport on Monday and overturned according to officials while resulting in at least 18 injuries but no fatalities.
The airline announced that Endeavor Air Flight 4819 carried 76 passengers and four crew members during its afternoon landing in Canada's largest city after departing from Minneapolis in Minnesota.
Authorities have yet to disclose information about what caused the accident or how the aircraft ended up inverted with its wings damaged.
"It's very early on. Speculation at this point is unnecessary and should be avoided. Todd Aitken, the airport's fire chief, stated the runway was dry and no crosswind conditions existed.
The official confirmed that 18 people sustained injuries during the accident but none of them died.
The AFP received information from paramedic services that three individuals sustained critical injuries including a child, a 60-year-old man and a 40-year-old woman.
According to paramedic services spokesperson Lawrence Saindon all injured individuals, even those with minor injuries, were transported to local hospitals by ambulance or helicopter.
People stumbling away from the overturned CRJ-900 plane appeared in dramatic local broadcast footage and social media posts where they protected their faces from powerful wind and snow blasts.
As smoke billowed from the aircraft's fuselage fire crews sprayed water on the plane while passengers continued to exit.
Deborah Flint from Toronto airport authority stated in a news conference that other planes were not involved in the incident. Emergency services demonstrated heroic efforts according to her statement since they arrived at the site shortly after and conducted a swift evacuation of passengers.
She announced that several passengers have already been able to see their friends and families again.
The airport halted all flights because of the incident then restarted them at 5pm local time after a two-hour stoppage. It said passengers should expect long delays.
'It's upside down'
John Nelson posted a video uploaded from the tarmac on Facebook where he explained that he was a flight passenger and showed the overturned aircraft with narration saying "Our plane crashed. It's upside down."
"Most people appear to be okay. We're all getting off," he added. The flight operated by Delta's Endeavor subsidiary experienced an incident. The airline announced through their spokesperson that initial reports indicate no fatalities occurred.
The Delta chief executive Ed Bastian stated that the entire Delta family around the globe feels for those impacted by today's event at Toronto-Pearson International Airport.
Eastern Canada experienced a massive snow storm on Sunday. Toronto experienced strong winds and extremely cold temperatures on Monday which forced airlines to schedule additional flights to compensate for cancellations during the storm weekend.
The airport warned earlier that while snowfall had ceased the area would face freezing temperatures and strong winds combined with an expected busy day of over 130,000 travellers and 1,000 flights in the terminals.
Federal Transport Minister Anita Anand verified that 80 passengers were on the flight. She posted her close observation of the serious incident at Pearson Airport involving Delta Airlines flight 4819 from Minneapolis.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford expressed relief that the incident did not result in any casualties. The Canada Transportation Safety Board sent investigators to examine the crash site.
The US Federal Aviation Administration will provide assistance while their team has already been sent to the site according to US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy.
A string of recent air incidents in North America includes a mid-air collision between a US Army helicopter and a passenger jet in Washington which killed 67 people and a medical transport plane crash in Philadelphia which resulted in seven fatalities.
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