Airport CEO says the week before the crash, two storms brought the area more snow than they experienced the entire previous winter.
All 80 individuals aboard the Delta Airlines Flight that crash landed in Toronto on Feb. 17 survived the harrowing flight but it’s believed that 21 were injured and transported to local hospitals at the time.
As of early on Feb. 18, 19 of the 21 passengers have been released.
Delta Connection Flight 4819 left Minneapolis–Saint Paul airport en route to the Toronto Pearson International Airport the day of the single-aircraft crash, which took place a little after 2 p.m. local time.
Video footage of the landing shows that the aircraft hit the runway hard and flames became visible before the plane began to skid on its side and rotate upside down. The aircraft was fully overturned and had a detached wing by the time it slid to a stop.
Passengers were left dangling upside down before they removed their seat belts to drop to the ceiling of the plane as the flight crew and emergency responders ushered them out of upside-down aircraft doors.
“The hearts of the entire global Delta family are with those affected by today’s incident at Toronto-Pearson International Airport,” Delta CEO Ed Bastian said.
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The flight was carrying 76 passengers and four crew members in a CRJ-900 aircraft. Delta said in their press release following the crash that the flight was operated by a Delta Air Lines-owned subsidiary, Endeavor Air.
While Delta flights were paused at the Toronto airport following the crash, they have since resumed operation, and the airline is now utilizing larger aircraft in an attempt to catch up with the backlog of passengers delayed by the crash.
“Our most pressing priority remains taking care of all customers and Endeavor crew members who were involved,” Bastian said in Delta’s most recent update on the crash.
“We’ll do everything we can to support them and their families in the days ahead, and I know the hearts, thoughts and prayers of the entire Delta community are with them. We are grateful for all the first responders and medical teams who have been caring for them.”
The Investigation Phase
President and Chief Executive Officer of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority Debora Flint told reporters during a Feb. 18 press conference that the response to the crash has transitioned to the investigatory phase.
Currently, the crashed aircraft is still on the runway, and multiple agencies, including the Federal Aviation Administration for the United States and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, are on scene. Additionally, Delta, as the airline involved, and Mitsubishi, as the manufacturer of the aircraft, are also taking part in the investigation.
When asked about the reason for the crash, Flint said, “This would not be a time for us to have a theory or speculate on what caused the crash.”
“We have a number of agencies that are here that are responsible for doing a thorough and full and complete investigation to determine all the causal factors,” Flint said.
However, she said that the area has experienced “extreme” conditions, with storms on Feb. 13 and Feb. 16 pelting the area with more than 20 inches of accumulated snow.
“That is actually not typical. In fact, it is more snow, and in that time window, than we received in all of last winter,” she said.
At this time, the Toronto airport remains open with flights arriving and departing. However, because of the closed runway, combined with the temporary halt of some planned arrivals and departures from the day of the crash and the already heavy backlog from the weather, traffic in and out of the airport has been difficult.
During the Feb. 18 press conference, first responders took questions about the crash, saying that the response time between the crash alert and when fire and rescue made it to the scene was within minutes.
Toronto Fire Chief Jim Jessop told reporters that when crews arrived on the scene, there was jet fuel in flames. They were able to cover the fuel in suppressant to stop the flames but their reaction time was crucial in minimizing the damage from the crash.
Recent Aviation Incidents
The Toronto crash is the fourth major incident of its kind in North America in recent weeks. On Jan. 29 a deadly crash between an American Airlines Jet and an Army helicopter near Washington D.C. killed 67.
In the case of the Washington event, the jet was involved in a mid-air collision with a Black Hawk just a few hundred feet above the ground before both aircraft crashed into the Potomac River. All 60 passengers and four crew members were killed, along with three service members in the Army helicopter.
Just two days later, a medical transport plane crashed in Philadelphia, killing six on board and another person on the ground. And on Feb. 6, an Alaska plane crash took the lives of 10 people on board.
Flint expressed her thankfulness that this crash saw no mortalities.
“There are so many factors that lead us to have gratitude today. Again, I cannot commend enough the crew, the flight attendants, pilots, and our emergency responders, for their quick and effective response,” she said.
