TORONTO, Feb 18: In a dramatic turn of events, 80 passengers aboard a Delta flight had a miraculous escape when their jet crashed and flipped over while attempting to land in heavy winds at a snow-covered airport in Toronto on Monday afternoon.
The flight, arriving from Minneapolis, encountered a critical mishap as it hit the runway. The impact caused one of the plane’s wings to detach, and the aircraft flipped over, coming to rest upside down. Despite the severe incident, all passengers managed to safely exit the aircraft, with the crew assisting them promptly.
Of the 80 people on board, 18, including a child, were taken to local hospitals. Two of the injured were reported to be in critical, though not life-threatening, condition.
Dramatic footage of the crash, shared by witnesses, showed crew members leading passengers off the plane amidst a snow-swept airfield. Firefighters rushed to the scene and quickly deployed foam around the aircraft to prevent a potential fire hazard.
The jet involved was a Canadian-made Embraer CRJ-900, operated by Endeavor Air, a subsidiary of Delta Airlines. The Canadian Transportation Safety Board has initiated an investigation into the unusual accident, with assistance from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
According to Canada’s weather service, the plane was attempting to land amid strong wind gusts reaching speeds of 61 kilometers per hour, which may have contributed to the crash.
John Nelson, a passenger on the flight, shared dramatic videos on Facebook showing the aftermath of the crash. “We just landed. Our plane crashed. It’s upside down. Fire department is on site. We’re upside down. Everybody, most people appear to be OK,” he wrote in his post.
Delta’s CEO Ed Bastian issued a statement, confirming that the airline is working closely with authorities to determine the details of the incident. “We are working to confirm the details and will share the most current information on news.delta.com as soon as it becomes available,” Bastian said.
This incident comes amid a series of aviation accidents in North America, including a tragic collision on January 29 between a military helicopter and an American Airlines jet, which resulted in both planes crashing into the Potomac River, killing all 67 people on board. Additionally, on February 1, an air ambulance crashed in Philadelphia, killing six people, including a child, and a person on the ground. A plane carrying 10 people also crashed in Alaska’s icy wilderness on February 6, claiming all lives on board.
