A Delta Airlines regional jet flipped upside down while landing at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Monday, injuring 18 people amid windy conditions following a major snowstorm.
The crash involved a CRJ900 aircraft operated by Delta’s Endeavor Air subsidiary, carrying 76 passengers and four crew members from Minneapolis-St. Paul.
Three people, including a child, suffered critical injuries, according to officials.
Fifteen others were hospitalized, though Delta said some had been released by Monday night.
Video footage showed the Bombardier-made plane with GE Aerospace engines coming to rest near two runways with at least one wing detached.
Passenger John Nelson described the chaotic landing to CNN.
“We hit the ground, and we were sideways, then upside down,” said Nelson.
“I unbuckled and fell to the ground. Some people needed help getting down.”
Nelson’s video captured fire crews spraying the overturned plane on snow-covered tarmac.
The crash occurred at 2:13 pm EST after an 86-minute flight.
FlightRadar24 data showed “gusting crosswind and blowing snow” during landing, though Toronto Pearson Fire Chief Todd Aitken later stated the runway was dry with no crosswinds.
U.S. aviation expert John Cox said the crew faced shifting winds averaging 35 km per hour, requiring constant adjustments.
“It's gusty, so they are constantly going to have to be making adjustments in the air speed, adjustments in the vertical profile, and adjustments in the lateral profile,” said Cox.
“It's normal for what professional pilots do.”
Michael J. McCormick, an air traffic professor, credited survival rates to modern aircraft safety.
"But the fact that 80 people survived an event like this is a testament to the engineering and the technology, the regulatory background that would go into creating a system where somebody can actually survive something that not too long ago would have been fatal," said McCormick.
Toronto Pearson resumed flights but expects delays as two runways remain closed for investigation.
Airport President Deborah Flint praised first responders for preventing deaths.
Canada’s Transportation Safety Board (TSB) is leading the probe with U.S. support.
Bombardier’s CRJ program owner, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, pledged full cooperation.
The crash follows recent U.S. plane crashes in Alaska, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C.
Preliminary findings are expected within 30 days.
