A Delta Airlines aircraft overturned upon landing at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Monday, resulting in 17 injuries.
Pearson Airport confirmed on X a Delta flight from Minneapolis had an incident, with all 76 passengers and four crew members accounted for. The accident occurred around 2:15 p.m., causing approximately a two-and-a-half-hour ground stop at Canada’s busiest airport. Two runways remained closed pending investigation.
Greater Toronto Airports Authority CEO Deborah Flint expressed relief at the lack of fatalities and relatively minor injuries.
The injury count was revised down from initial paramedic reports of 19 injuries.
Video footage showed the Mitsubishi CRJ-900LR inverted on the snowy runway, being hosed down by emergency crews. Snow from a recent winter storm partially obscured the plane.
Ornge air ambulance transported one child to SickKids hospital and two adults to other city hospitals.
The airport’s X post reported that emergency services were responding and all passengers and crew were accounted for.
Air traffic control communication with a returning medical helicopter revealed the plane rested at the intersection of Runways 23 and 15L, close to the runway’s beginning. A controller noted people were walking around the aircraft.
The medical helicopter pilot reported the aircraft was upside down and burning.
The cause of the incident remains under investigation, though weather may have been a contributing factor. The Meteorological Service of Canada reported blowing snow and winds of 32 mph (51 kph) gusting to 40 mph (65 kph), with a temperature of about 16.5 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 8.6 degrees Celsius).
Aviation safety consultant John Cox described such incidents as rare, noting that while inverted takeoffs have occurred, this type of landing incident is unusual.
Toronto Pearson Airport tower audio recordings indicate the flight was cleared for landing around 2:10 p.m. local time. The tower warned pilots of potential turbulence during the approach.
Cox interpreted the controller’s warning as a heads-up about potentially bumpy conditions due to wind.
Cox, a former U.S. Air pilot and NTSB investigator, noted the CRJ-900’s proven track record and its ability to handle challenging weather conditions.
He highlighted the missing right wing as a key question in the investigation, stating that its absence would likely contribute to a rollover.
Cox emphasized the importance of the flight data and cockpit voice recorders in determining the cause of the accident.
The last major crash at Pearson occurred on August 2, 2005, when an Air France Airbus A340 skidded off the runway and caught fire; all 309 on board survived.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration stated that the Transportation Safety Board of Canada would lead the investigation, with assistance from a U.S. team.
This incident marks at least the fourth major aviation mishap in North America within the past month, following a commercial jet and Army helicopter collision near Washington D.C., a medical plane crash in Philadelphia resulting in seven fatalities, and a crash in Alaska with 10 fatalities.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford expressed relief at the lack of fatalities and pledged provincial assistance.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian offered condolences to those affected.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz confirmed contact with Delta regarding the incident.
Endeavor Air, a Delta subsidiary and the world’s largest CRJ-900 operator, provides regional jet services across North America and the Caribbean.
The CRJ-900, manufactured by Bombardier, is related to the CRJ-700 involved in the January 29 mid-air collision near Reagan National Airport.
—Casey reported from Concord, New Hampshire. Michael Sisak in New York, Jack Dura in Bismarck, North Dakota, Alex Veiga in Los Angeles, and Jim Morris in Vancouver, British Columbia, contributed reporting.