A fiery upside-down landing and ‘hanging like bats’: Witnesses recount a Delta jet crash in Toronto

Stiff winds blew over Canada’s Toronto Pearson Airport Monday afternoon as a slim aircraft and its 80 passengers and crew drifted toward the snowy tarmac, cleared by air traffic controllers to make a landing. But within moments, the plane had inexplicably overturned and crashed into the runway, sending fire crews scrambling to extinguish the rising flames.

Stiff winds blew over Canada’s Toronto Pearson Airport Monday afternoon as a slim aircraft, cleared by air traffic controllers to land, and its 80 passengers and crew drifted toward the snowy tarmac. But within moments, the plane had inexplicably crashed into the runway and overturned, sending fire crews scrambling to extinguish the rising flames. All on board the Delta flight from Minneapolis survived the collision, but it is still unclear how the aircraft was upended, leaving it belly-up, streaked with black residue and shorn of a wing tip. Inside, seat-belted passengers were suspended from their seats. At least 18 people were injured in the crash, airport Fire Chief Todd Aitken said. A child was among the injured, but is in good condition, the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto said. The harrowing incident briefly halted traffic at Canada’s busiest airport and is certain to raise questions amid heightened flight safety concerns in the US. The crash comes less than three weeks after an American Airlines plane collided midair with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter in Washington, DC, killing all 67 people aboard. In Toronto, passengers evacuated the upside-down CRJ900 aircraft as first responders doused its fuselage with foamy fire retardant. Evacuees jumped several feet from the plane’s exit doors and stumbled across the slick tarmac clutching jackets and small carry-on bags. Endeavor Air, a regional airline for Delta, operated the flight.