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A Delta Plane Crashes in Toronto, but Tragedy Is Averted

A Delta Plane Crashes in Toronto but Tragedy Is Averted
All 80 people aboard Delta Flight 4819 survived a crash landing at a windy and snowy Toronto airport.

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A Passenger Jet Flips and Burns, but Tragedy Is Averted This Time

All 80 people aboard Delta Flight 4819 survived a crash landing at a windy and snowy Toronto airport.

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Delta Plane Crashes and Flips Over During Landing in Toronto

All 80 people on the flight from Minneapolis made it off the plane, which overturned and caught fire. At least 18 people were injured.

“Just so you are aware, there’s people outside walking around the aircraft there.” “Yeah, we’ve got it. The aircraft is upside down and burning.”

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All 80 people on the flight from Minneapolis made it off the plane, which overturned and caught fire. At least 18 people were injured.CreditCredit...Ian Willms for The New York Times
Feb. 18, 2025Updated 11:50 a.m. ET

Delta Flight 4819’s landing seemed routine — until it wasn’t.

For the 80 people on board, the world lurched immediately after the wheels hit the ground at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Monday afternoon. The plane sparked and burst into flames as it skidded along the runway, then it rolled onto its back, its right wing shearing off.

In the blink of an eye, passengers found themselves hanging upside down, still strapped into their seats as jet fuel began running down the windows, said Pete Carlson, one of those on the flight.

“The absolute initial feeling is just, ‘Need to get out of this,’” Mr. Carlson told CBC, the Canadian national broadcaster.

But after a horrific string of fatal aviation accidents over the past two months, this crash proved different. The seatbelts passenger had strapped on to prepare for landing likely contributed to the lack of a more catastrophic outcome, aviation experts said. Flight attendants and passengers were able to help each other out of the emergency exits and onto the snow.

At least 18 people were injured, including one adult and one child in critical but non-life threatening condition, but everyone was expected to survive. By late Monday, some of the injured passengers had been released from the hospital, Delta said.

The crew of an air ambulance waiting to take off captured the moment of the crash-landing. The video, which spread on social media and was verified by The New York Times, may give clues about what caused the plane to tilt to its right before flipping onto its back. It shows the aircraft landing hard on a snow-covered runway and then flipping over on its right side amid black clouds of smoke.

How the aircraft flipped upside

down after landing

1. As the plane approached the runway, its landing gear appeared deployed.

2. Soon after it touched down, the plane’s right wing hit the ground, sparking flames.

3. The left wing was seen rotating as the plane flipped onto its back.

4. The plane continued to skid upside down.

How the aircraft flipped upside down after landing

1.

2.

As the plane approached the runway, its landing gear appeared deployed.

Soon after it touched down,

the plane’s right wing hit the

ground, sparking flames.

3.

4.

The left wing was seen rotating as the plane flipped onto its back.

The plane continued to skid upside down.

By Samuel Granados

Terminals

TorontO

Pearson Airport

Flight path

Area of

details

Cargo

Toronto Pearson Airport

Final approach

The jet attempted to land amid strong winds and drifting snow

Wind gusts reached about 40 miles

per hour when the plane landed

Last recorded

location

Where the plane came to rest with its belly up

650 feet

North

Flight path

Terminals

Area of

details

BELOW

TorontO

Pearson Airport

North

Wind gusts reached about 40 miles per hour when the plane landed

Final approach

The jet attempted to land amid strong winds and drifting snow

Last recorded

location

Where the plane came to rest with its belly up

650 feet

Sources: Aerial image by Airbus via Google Earth; liveact.net; Flight data by Flightradar24

By Pablo Robles

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