TORONTO — The CEO of Toronto's Pearson airport authority says two main runways remain closed after a Delta Air Lines plane crashed and flipped on the tarmac Monday afternoon, leaving 21 people injured.
Deborah Flint said investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, as well as teams from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation and Delta are on site to look into the cause of the crash.
Delta said in a social media post that 19 out of 21 passengers initially taken to Toronto-area hospitals have been released as the investigation continues.
Delta flight 4819 from Minneapolis to Toronto, operated by subsidiary Endeavor Air, crashed on landing around 2:30 p.m. Monday.
Flint said authorities will not speculate about a possible cause until a thorough investigation is complete.
A video that appears to have captured the crash has 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.
There were no reports of deaths in the crash as of Tuesday afternoon.
Paramedics said Monday that out of 80 people on the flight, 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.
Cory Tkatch, a commander with Peel Region paramedics, said at a press conference Tuesday that passengers had "a multitude of different injuries," including back sprains, head injuries, anxiety, nausea and vomiting due to the jet fuel exposure.
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.
Flint said Monday was an "operational recovery day" at the airport 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.
"We have been in recovery mode since resuming flights at 5 p.m. yesterday, catching up on delayed flights, and that continues into today as well," said Flint, adding that the airport's longest east-to-west and north-to-south runways remain closed.
Flint said the wreckage of the aircraft will remain on the tarmac as the investigation continues, and expects it will stay there for the next 48 hours.
"This would not be a time for us to have a theory or to speculate on what caused the crash," said Flint, adding that the flight crew are "heroes" for getting passengers to safety.
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.
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."
"My thoughts are with those injured and those families," she said in a social media post expressing 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 are in contact with airport and local authorities and will 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.
Arrivals and departures at Pearson resumed by 5 p.m. on Monday, but the airport said delays were expected over the coming days as crash investigators do their work.
Pearson advised travellers to check the status of their flight before heading to the airport.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 18, 2025.
Rianna Lim, The Canadian Press
