All passengers and crew survive plane crash at Toronto airport
The airport’s CEO said all passengers and crew survived the crash and overturned flight while landing at Toronto Pearson Airport in Canada.
“We are very grateful for the loss of life and the relatively small harm,” said Deborah Flint of the Greater Toronto Airport Authority.
Images shared on emergency services and social media show a plane flipped over a snow-covered apron and lying on the roof, with a child and two adults suffering serious injuries in the crash. It seems to be missing at least one of the wings.
Toronto Pearson Airport said the crash involved a Delta Airlines flight arriving from Minneapolis, with 76 of the 80 people on board being passengers and four crew members.
Eighteen passengers were taken to the hospital in total.
Ontario air ambulance service Ornge says it has Three aerial ambulance helicopters and two land ambulances were sent to the scene.
Patients with severe injuries include a child, a man in his 60s and a woman in his 40s.
Deborah Flint, president and CEO of Toronto Pearson Airport, called emergency personnel’s responses “textbooks” and praised them in a way that helped ensure there were no deaths.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the aircraft involved was flight 4819 by Delta Airlines flights that were worked hard by one of its subsidiaries.
The Delta confirmed that on Monday afternoon, they participated in the CRJ900 aircraft at about 14:15 GMT (about 19:15).
Ms Flint said the 22 passengers were Canadians and the rest were “multinational companies.”
The airport said the airport was closed shortly after the incident, but the Toronto Pearson flight resumed at about 17:00 local time.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) said a team is being deployed to “collect information and evaluate events.”
Both runways will continue to be closed for several days for investigation and were told passengers are expecting some delays.
Toronto Pearson Fire Chief Todd Aitken said Monday night that it was early in the investigation, but they could say “the runway is dry and there is no crossing condition.”
This contradicts the reports of earlier gusts, which are more than 40 mph (64 km/h) and transverse winds.
Video footage shared on social media shows people climbing out of a capsized plane and firefighters spray it with foam.
“We’re in Toronto, we just landed. Our plane crashed and it was turned upside down,” he said as he shot a video from outside the rising plane.
The video shows airport staff helping passengers on the plane, and some escape from the plane’s entrance.
“Most people seem to be fine. We’re all getting out of the car and some cigarettes are going on,” he said.
Ontario Prime Minister Doug Ford said provincial officials are in contact with airports and local authorities and will provide any assistance needed.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said he was “thanks to the first responders and professionals on the scene.”
After the crash, the airport’s arrival and departure committee showed delays and cancellations of flights.
Some passengers told the BBC that their flight was trapped in Toronto a few days after it was cancelled and that it was not available on Monday or Tuesday.
James and Andrea Turner were at customs — just before departure — were suddenly told to evacuate.
“They got rid of everyone from customs to safety and then brought everyone back to the general area,” James said.
The couple was supposed to board the plane crashed on the runway. Their flight was then cancelled – due to bad weather, their previous journey was rescheduled after the third delay in their trip.
Toronto Pearson Airport has been experiencing weather-related delays over the past few days, with heavy snowfall and temperatures dropping parts of Ontario.
Two storms – one on Wednesday and one on Sunday – covered the city with a total of 30-50 cm (11.8-19.6 inches) of snow.
CBS, a US partner of the BBC, reported that light snow fell during the crash.
Earlier Monday, the airport warned: “Cold temperatures and strong winds are pouring in.”
It said it was expected that there would be a “busy day” with airlines catching up in a blizzard this weekend, dumping 22 cm of snow at the airport.
The crash is at least the fourth major aviation incident in North America in the past month – including Deadly air collision between passenger planes and military helicopters Near Ronald Reagan Airport in Washington, D.C., the airport killed all 67 people.
