Investigators examining the wreckage of a Delta Air Lines flight at Toronto Pearson Airport said Tuesday they’ve recovered the plane’s black box, as authorities praised the “textbook” emergency response to the fiery crash landing.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada, which is leading the probe of the crash that injured 21 people on Monday, said its investigators have sent the plane’s cockpit and flight data recorders to a lab for further analysis.
“At this point, it’s far too early to say what the cause of this accident might be,” TSB senior investigator Ken Webster said in a video posted on YouTube late Tuesday.
He said investigators will share more information once they’re able.
Two main runways at Pearson remain closed and airport authorities said travellers can expect further delays in the coming days as the investigation continues.
Deborah Flint, CEO of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority, said Tuesday the wreckage of the aircraft is expected to remain on the tarmac for the next 48 hours.
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“This would not be a time for us to have a theory or to speculate on what caused the crash,” Flint told a news conference at the airport, adding that the flight crew are “heroes” for getting passengers to safety.
Delta said in a social media post that 19 out of 21 passengers initially taken to Toronto-area hospitals have since been released.
Delta flight 4819 from Minneapolis to Toronto, operated by subsidiary Endeavor Air and carrying 80 people, crashed on landing at around 2:30 p.m. Monday.
A video that appeared to have captured the crash emerged on social media, showing a plane bursting into flame as soon as it touched down on the runway, skidding and flipping over seconds later.
Other videos appeared to show passengers scrambling out of an upside-down cabin as workers assisted them off the plane onto the snowy tarmac, and emergency crews hosed the aircraft with water.
One of the plane’s passengers told CBC News the landing was “very forceful” and he found himself upside down, still strapped in his seat.
“All of the sudden everything just kind of went sideways,” Peter Carlson, who said he flew to Toronto for a paramedics conference, told the broadcaster.
Cory Tkatch, a commander with Peel Region paramedics, said at Tuesday’s news conference that passengers had “a multitude of different injuries,” including back sprains, head injuries, anxiety, nausea and vomiting due to the jet fuel exposure.
Paramedics had previously said that at least three people, including a child, were sent to hospital with critical but non-life-threatening injuries. Others were reported to have minor injuries.
The airport’s fire chief, Todd Aitken, called the emergency response “textbook” and said crews were on the scene within minutes.
“Upon arrival, the crew did witness spot fires,” said Aitken. “Once the fires were knocked down, the crews did make entry and performed primary search and rescue.”
Aitken added that most passengers had “self-evacuated” from the plane upon crew arrival.
Aitken had said late Monday that “the runway was dry and there were no crosswind conditions” at the time of the crash. But when asked about that again on Tuesday, he referred those questions to the Transportation Safety Board.
The plane arrived at Pearson amid blowing snow following a winter storm that hit the Toronto region over the weekend. Gusting winds up to 65 km/h were reported at the airport around the time of the crash.
Kit Darby, a U.S.-based aviation consultant with more than 20,000 hours of flight experience, said Tuesday after watching video of the plane’s landing that it didn’t slow as such a plane normally would.
Darby also said occasional bursts of strong winds could have created a “variable condition” in the moments right before touchdown.
He said landing gear is meant to withstand such a hard landing, but something happened after that.
“Either something broke—landing gear, tire blew … or they banked the airplane too much and the wing tip hit the ground. Or a combination of those could have happened,” he said.
In addition to TSB investigators, teams from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation and Delta were on site to look into the cause of the crash.
Flint said Monday was an “operational recovery day” at Pearson after hundreds of flights were cancelled or delayed due to the weekend snow storms. After the plane crash, 462 scheduled flights were cancelled while 544 flights operated, she said.
Air Canada said in a statement Tuesday that it has cancelled nearly 1,300 flights over the past six days “as a result of the recent storm and the incident at Toronto Pearson.”
Pearson advised travellers to check the status of their flight before heading to the airport.
Meanwhile, reaction has poured in from Canadian and U.S. officials in the aftermath of the crash.
Federal Transport Minister Anita Anand said Monday she was closely following the “serious incident” and expressed her gratitude for the first responders.
Her American counterpart, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, said he has been in touch with Anand to offer assistance and help with the investigation.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said in a social media post Monday that provincial officials were in contact with airport and local authorities and would provide help as needed. Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow thanked first responders in her own post and expressed relief that all passengers and crew on board the plane had been accounted for.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in a statement that the airline is doing everything it can to support the passengers and their families.
“Our most pressing priority remains taking care of all customers and Endeavor crew members who were involved,” he said.
