Flames were seen coming from the plane at Pearson Airport
These pictures show the aftermath of the Toronto plane crash after the aircraft flipped on the runway. The Delta Air Lines completely flipped, however all 80 people on board survived and those who were hurt only sustained minor injuries, according to the chief executive of Toronto’s Pearson Airport, reports the Mirror.
The flight from Minneapolis skidded along the runway with flames visible and it came to a halt upside down as firefighters came to the rescue. Officials said 18 people were injured and they were looking into the cause of the crash.
Peter Carlson, a passenger traveling to Toronto for a paramedics conference, said the landing was “very forceful.” “All the sudden everything just kind of went sideways and then next thing I know it’s kind of a blink and I’m upside down still strapped in,” he told CBC News.
Canadian authorities held two brief news conferences but provided no details on the crash. Video posted to social media showed the aftermath with the Mitsubishi CRJ-900LR overturned, the fuselage seemingly intact and firefighters dousing what was left of the fire as passengers climbed out and walked across the tarmac.
Deborah Flint, CEO of Greater Toronto Airports Authority, told reporters “We are very grateful there was no loss of life and relatively minor injuries.” Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in a statement that “the hearts of the entire global Delta family are with those affected.”
Toronto Pearson Fire Chief Todd Aitken said 18 passengers were taken to the hospital. Earlier in the day, Ornge air ambulance said it was transporting one paediatric patient to Toronto’s SickKids hospital and two injured adults to other hospitals in the city.
Emergency personnel reached the plane within a few minutes and Aitken said the response “went as planned.” He said “the runway was dry and there was no cross-wind conditions.”
The crash was the fourth major aviation accident in North America in the past three weeks. A commercial jetliner and an Army helicopter collided near Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 29, killing 67 people. A medical transportation plane crashed in Philadelphia on Jan. 31, killing the six people on board and another person on the ground. And on Feb. 6, 10 people were killed in a plane crash in Alaska.