A Delta Air Lines regional jet sits upside-down after crashing upon landing at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Monday.
Geoff Robins/AFP via Getty Images
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Geoff Robins/AFP via Getty Images
Authorities have provided a few more details as the investigation continues into what caused a Delta Air Lines regional jet to flip upside down and catch fire upon landing at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Monday afternoon.
No passengers were killed. But on Tuesday, Delta said two remained hospitalized after 21 passengers were taken to local hospitals.
Cory Tkatch of Peel Regional Paramedic Services said first responders encountered a “multitude” of injuries, including back sprains, head injuries, as well as anxiety and nausea and vomiting from fuel exposure. No injuries are life-threatening, officials said on Tuesday. Fire officials said most of the passengers self-evacuated from the plane.
Video of the landing on social media showed the plane touching down on the runway before leaning on its right, then flipping over and emitting flames and a giant cloud of black smoke. Photos showed the fuselage laying upside-down on the runway, missing its right wing.
Airport and emergency officials would not comment on any potential cause of the crash.
“This would not be a time for us to have theory or to speculate on what caused the crash,” said Deborah Flint, CEO of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority. She said investigative agencies are doing a “complete investigation to determine all the causal factors and we are looking forward to getting those results.”
Flint said the airport received 20 inches of snow between Thursday and Sunday — amounting to more than all of last winter — but would not say whether the weather played a role in the crash.
Investigators from Canada’s Transportation Safety Board are on the scene and representatives from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration are also participating in the investigation, she said.
The wrecked plane will likely remain on the runway for the next 48 hours as investigators continue their work, Flint said. Two of Toronto Pearson’s runways remain closed as a result, leading to hundreds of canceled flights. More than 440 have been canceled in the last 24 hours as of Tuesday afternoon, according to flight tracker FlightAware.
The Mitsubishi-built CRJ-900 was operated by regional airline Endeavor Air and was finishing its route from Minneapolis to Toronto on Monday. Four crew members and 76 passengers were aboard.
Flint commended first responders and flight crew for quickly evacuating those aboard and preventing any loss of life. “I cannot commend enough the crew, the flight attendants, pilots and our emergency responders for their quick and effective response,” she told reporters.
