A day after a Delta Flight 4819 flipped moments after landing in Toronto, what remained of the aircraft remained upside down, its right wing and tail sheared off and the wreckage blocking the two longest runways at Canada’s busiest airport.
But officials on Tuesday were still marveling that all 80 people on board had escaped death or life-threatening injuries after the jet made a hard landing and rolled over, grinding to a halt in a cloud of dense smoke, sparks and flame at Toronto Pearson International Airport.
“Every time you board a flight, you are greeted by flight attendants and by flight crew,” Deborah Flint, the president of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority, said at a news conference on Tuesday. “But we saw the most important role that they play in action yesterday. The crew of Delta Flight 4819 heroically led passengers to safety.”
As investigators from safety boards in Canada and the United States, as well as the regional jet’s manufacturer, began combing over the wreckage, there was no official word on what caused the crash.
For the 80 people on board the flight from Minneapolis, the world lurched immediately after the wheels hit the ground on Monday afternoon.
In the blink of an eye, passengers found themselves hanging upside down, still strapped into their seats as jet fuel ran down the windows, said Pete Carlson, one of the passengers.
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
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.
The left wing was seen rotating as the plane flipped onto its back.
The plane continued to skid upside down.
By Samuel Granados
The jet attempted to land amid strong winds and drifting snow
Wind gusts reached about 40 miles
per hour when the plane landed
Where the plane came to rest with its belly up
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
Where the plane came to rest with its belly up
Sources: Aerial image by Airbus via Google Earth; liveact.net; Flight data by Flightradar24
By Pablo Robles
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