A Delta Air Lines jet, traveling from Minneapolis, flipped onto its roof while attempting to land at Toronto Pearson Airport on Monday. Despite the dramatic incident, all 80 people on board—76 passengers and four crew members—survived, and the injuries reported were relatively minor, according to the airport’s CEO, Deborah Flint.
The incident occurred around 2:15 p.m. when snow was blowing across the runway, compounded by gusty winds reaching 40 mph (65 kph). Despite normal communication between the flight crew and the control tower, the cause of the crash remains unclear. The aircraft, a Mitsubishi CRJ-900LR, overturned on landing, but the fuselage appeared largely intact in footage posted on social media. Emergency crews quickly arrived at the scene to douse remaining flames, and passengers were seen walking across the tarmac after escaping the wreckage.
The Toronto Pearson Fire Department confirmed that 18 passengers were transported to local hospitals. One pediatric patient was airlifted to SickKids Hospital, and two adults were taken to other facilities in the city. Fire Chief Todd Aitken reported that emergency response was swift and executed according to protocol. He noted that the runway was dry, with no crosswind conditions at the time of the incident.
This crash marks the fourth major aviation accident in North America in just three weeks. Previous incidents include a collision between a commercial jetliner and an Army helicopter near Washington, D.C., on January 29, which killed 67 people; a medical transport plane crash in Philadelphia on January 31, killing six people on board and one on the ground; and a plane crash in Alaska on February 6 that claimed the lives of 10 individuals.
Canadian authorities have provided few details on the investigation, and the cause of the Delta plane’s crash remains under investigation.
