Toronto Delta plane crash: Why the aircraft flipped upside down on landing

At least 18 people were injured after the plane flipped upside down as it landed at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Monday amid windy weather following a snowstorm.

A Delta Air Lines jet attempting to land at Toronto Pearson Airport amid strong winds and drifting snow crashed and flipped over on the tarmac on Monday afternoon, finally coming to a rest with its belly up and with at least one wing shorn off.

Despite the crash landing, all 80 people aboard Flight 4819 from Minneapolis were evacuated.

Delta flight 4819 originating from Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport in the US state of Minnesota crash landed on the runway at about 3:30pm (20:30 GMT) on Monday.

The plane CRJ900 was manufactured by Canadian aerospace company Bombardier. While the aircraft burst into flames, prompting fire crews to extinguish them, the fuselage of the plane remained largely intact.

Social media footage showed people leaving the flipped plane and walking across the tarmac, shielding themselves from snowfall and strong winds.

Three people on flight DL4819 from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport suffered critical injuries, among them a child, a Canadian air ambulance official said, with 15 others also immediately taken to hospitals.

Passenger John Nelson posted a video of the aftermath on Facebook, showing a fire engine spraying water on the plane that was lying belly-up on the snow-covered tarmac.

He later told CNN there was no indication of anything unusual before landing.

“We hit the ground, and we were sideways, and then we were upside down,” Nelson told the television network.
“I was able to just unbuckle and sort of fall and push myself to the ground. And then some people were kind of hanging and needed some help being helped down, and others were able to get down on their own,” he said.