Toronto, Feb 18: A Delta Airlines aircraft overturned upon landing at Toronto’s Pearson Airport on Monday, resulting in injuries to 19 individuals, three of whom are in critical condition. The airport announced on X that an incident involved Delta flight from Minneapolis, with all 76 passengers and four crew members accounted for. Delta reported that the accident occurred at 3:30 p.m.
Operations at Toronto Pearson resumed by 5 p.m. and several passengers were transported to local hospitals. GTAA staff are assisting families of the affected passengers at the airport.
Video footage captured the Mitsubishi CRJ-900LR inverted on the snowy runway as emergency crews worked to secure the area, partially obscured by snow from a winter storm that had struck Toronto over the weekend. Ornge air ambulance reported transporting one pediatric patient to SickKids hospital and two adults with critical injuries to other facilities in the city.
Emergency teams were dispatched, with officials confirming that all individuals onboard had been located. The cause of the plane’s flip remains undetermined, although weather conditions could have played a role. The Meteorological Service of Canada indicated that Toronto was experiencing blowing snow and winds measuring 32 mph (51 kph), gusting to 40 mph (65 kph), with temperatures around 16.5°F (-8.6°C).
An audio clip from the control tower revealed that the flight was cleared for landing around 2:10 p.m., with warnings about potential turbulence in the glide path due to a previously landed aircraft. “Such an occurrence is very rare,” stated John Cox, CEO of Safety Operating Systems, a firm specializing in aviation safety. “While we have seen incidents involving takeoffs leading to planes being inverted, it’s quite uncommon.”
Cox, who has a background with U.S. Air and has participated in NTSB investigations, noted the CRJ900 model is well-regarded and has successfully operated in challenging weather for years. Delta Connection flight 4819, managed by Endeavor Air using a CRJ-900 aircraft, encountered the incident at Toronto Pearson International Airport around 2:15 p.m. ET.
“The weather at the time was windy, with gusts reaching approximately 38 mph,” explained Cox. “However, aircraft of this type are built to cope with such conditions, and the crew is trained to manage them effectively.”
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration stated that the Transportation Safety Board of Canada will lead the investigation, with the National Transportation Safety Board deploying a team of U.S. investigators to assist.
This marks at least the fourth significant aviation incident in North America within the last month. Other incidents included the collision of a commercial jetliner and an Army helicopter near the capital on January 29, which claimed 67 lives, a medical transport plane crash in Philadelphia on January 31 that resulted in six fatalities, and a plane crash in Alaska that killed ten.
Delta emphasized in a statement that there were “initial reports indicating no fatalities” and confirmed that several injured individuals were taken to hospitals nearby. “Our main priority is to support those affected,” the airline noted.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford expressed relief on X, stating that he was “grateful there were no casualties” following the incident at Toronto Pearson. “Provincial officials are coordinating with airport and local authorities to extend necessary support,” Ford added.
Endeavor Air, headquartered in Minneapolis, operates as a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines and is the largest operator of CRJ-900 aircraft globally, with a fleet of 130 regional jets conducting 700 daily flights to over 126 destinations across the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean, according to its website.
The CRJ900, a widely used regional jet developed by Bombardier, belongs to the same family of planes as the CRJ700, involved in the midair collision near Reagan National Airport on January 29. (Agencies)
