No Way To Land A Plane

"We're in Toronto. We just landed. Our plane crashed. It's upside down."

"Fire department is on site. Were upside down."

"Everybody, most people appear to be okay. We're all getting out."

John Nelson, passenger video

 

"[The plane] impacted [the runway during landing, before parts of the aircraft separated and a fire ensued.]"

"As you can see here, the fuselage came to rest slightly off the right side of the runway, upside down, facing the other direction."

"At this point, it's far too early to say what the cause of this accident might be."

Ken Webster, investigator, Transportation Safety Board

 

"We are very grateful there was no loss of life and relatively minor injuries. [The quick response was due to the] heroic [first responders at the airport]."

"We are very focused on the care and the concern and the passengers and the crew, some of whom have already been reunified with their friends and their families. Others we have in a comfortable place right here at the airport in an environment where they're getting a lot of care and support from my staff."

Deborah Flint, president and CEO, Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA)

 

"[The landing was a ] forceful [event where all of a sudden everything went sideways]."

"The next thing I know, there was kind of a blink, I was upside down and still strapped in."

"It was cement and metal. The absolute initial feeling is just need to get out of this."

Peter Carlson, passenger on the Delta plane

Delta Air Lines plane at Toronto Pearson airport, Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025.  CTVNews

On Monday, around 3:00 p.m. a social media statement by Toronto Pearson International Airport announced an "incident upon landing", adding that all passengers and crew are "accounted for". "No deaths, thank goodness. That's why (flight) attendants tell everyone to fasten seat belts", a social media statement by Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish followed. A Delta Air Lines plane suffered a crash landing, on the snow-cleared runway.

 

The tower had earlier issued a warning to the pilots to be aware of the potential of an air flow bump in their glide path while the plane began its landing manoeuvres; a result of a preceding aircraft before its entry. The tower at Pearson airport's audio recording indicated that Delta Air Lines Flight 4819 was cleared to land at 2:10 p.m. No additional connection with the Delta flight was recorded and then the tower confirmed at 2:12 p.m. that a plane crashed on runway 23. 

The Meteorological Service of Canada reported that the airport was experiencing blowing snow and winds up to 51 kilometres per hour, gusting to 54 kph. The temperature registered -8.6 C. Immediately after the crash all flight traffic was interrupted, placed on  hold for both arrivals and departures. The New York Post citing flight records, identified the plane as a Mitsubishi CRJ-900LR. Initially there was no word of possible injuries among the passengers debarking.

 

First responders work at the Delta Air Lines plane crash site at Toronto Pearson International Airport in Mississauga, Ont., Monday. (Arlyn McAdorey/Reuters)

 

The rear of the plane was sprayed by an emergency services truck. The Delta Air Lines plane was shown in images posted to social media upside down, with its landing gear pointing skyward, a wing torn completely off, smoke rising from the rear, while passengers were leaving the tarmac. The plane, arriving from Minneapolis, had departed at 11:47 a.m. Outside the plane passengers were moving away from their disabled flight.

 

Passengers walked on the ceiling before managing to evacuate out of the overwing door and the front door. The side of the plane was etched with skid marks close to the front door. The wing rests about 40 metres distant from the plane. Passengers that were injured were taken to hospital, around 20 of them, 17 of whom were eventually released, having suffered minor injuries. Several remain in hospital with more serious injuries, one of whom is a child, taken to Toronto's Sick Kids Hospital. 

A woman in her 40s was sent to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre wth critical injuries, while a man in his 60s was airlifted to St. Michael's Hospital. Critically injured people reported by Ornge Air Ambulance services added more people than those identified by a local paramedic service spokesperson who spoke of one individual with critical, non-life-threatening injuries and seven others with mild to moderate injuries.

 

Seats may have helped save lives, former transportation safety board investigator says: CBC