A Delta Air plane from Minneapolis crashed while landing at Toronto Pearson Airport on Monday afternoon, overturning on the runway. Images from the scene show the aircraft upside down after the impact.
Delta Flight 4819 landed around 2:45 p.m. local time amid strong winds and snow, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). All 80 people on board were evacuated, though the full extent of injuries was not immediately clear.
Nine people were injured, including one in critical but non-life-threatening condition, who was airlifted to a trauma center. A child also suffered serious but stable injuries. The other seven passengers were taken to hospitals with minor to moderate injuries, according to Lawrence Saindon, supervisor of Peel Regional Paramedic Services.
Delta issued a statement acknowledging the incident and working to gather more details. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada took over the accident investigation.
Following the crash, the FAA issued a temporary ground stop, affecting other airport operations. Canada’s Transport Minister, Anita Anand, said on social media that she was “closely monitoring the serious incident.”
According to Environment Canada, at the time of the accident, winds were reaching 46 km/h (28 mph), with gusts up to 61 km/h (38 mph), and there was drifting snow. Toronto temperatures were expected to remain below -6°C (21°F) that day.
Earlier, Pearson Airport had warned of a busy day as airlines worked to catch up on flights after heavy snowstorms over the weekend, which left more than 20 cm (8 inches) of snow.
The flight was operated by Endeavor Air, a Delta subsidiary that runs smaller aircraft on shorter routes. The plane involved, a Bombardier CRJ-900 with a capacity of 70 to 76 passengers, was about 16 years old, though these aircraft typically remain in service for several decades with proper maintenance.
Globally, there are over 380 CRJ-900s in operation, with a strong safety record, according to data from aviation analytics firm Cirium. This accident adds to a series of recent aviation incidents that have raised concerns among travelers.
On January 29, a military Black Hawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines plane during its final approach to Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, killing all 67 people on board both aircraft. Two days later, a medical plane carrying six people crashed near a shopping center in Philadelphia, killing everyone on board and one person on the ground.
On February 2, another Delta flight from Minneapolis to Amsterdam had to turn back due to issues with the aircraft’s flaps. On February 5, a Japan Airlines plane collided with a parked Delta aircraft while taxiing at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, damaging the tail of the Delta plane. No injuries were reported in that incident.
