Wing missing after Delta flight flips upon landing at Toronto airport, Canada
At least 18 people were injured when Delta Airlines Flight 4819 flipped upon landing at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Monday afternoon, February 17, 2025. The incident occurred amid strong winds and blowing snow, leaving at least three individuals, including a child, critically injured. The aircraft, a CRJ900, lost one of its wings in the accident but did not burst into flames.
Delta flight 4819 flipped upside down after crash landing at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Monday, February 18, 2025. Image credit: Morgan J. Freeman
At least 18 people were injured when a Delta Airlines plane crash-landed at Toronto Pearson International Airport, Canada, at 15:30 local time (20:30 UTC) on Monday amid strong winds and blowing snow.
While all 76 passengers and 4 crew members survived the crash, three people sustained critical injuries and were transported to hospitals.
The Transport Safety Board of Canada is putting together a team to investigate the incident. Canadian authorities have held two brief news conferences but provided no details on the crash.
Delta Flight 4819 was a CRJ900 aircraft manufactured by Bombardier, a Canadian aerospace company, and operated by Endeavor Air. Footage shared on social media showed fire crews extinguishing flames that had engulfed much of the aircraft, though the fuselage remained largely intact.
The cause of the crash has not been confirmed, but snowy conditions combined with strong winds were present at the time of landing. Approximately 22 cm (8.7 inches) of snow had accumulated at the airport over the weekend, with winds reaching up to 55 km/h (32 mph) and gusts of 65 km/h (40 mph) during the landing on Monday.
According to FlightAware data, the aircraft was traveling at approximately 215 km/h (135 mph) just before landing, which is within normal limits. The pilot followed a standard landing pattern, and no abnormal readings were recorded before landing.
What happened to the missing wing upon the crash and what happened to it is still a mystery. The plane has a tendency to roll over if it is missing a wing, so once more details come to light we will have a clearer picture of what caused the crash, according to Cox.
The Delta flight was cleared to land at about 14:10 LT. Audio recordings indicated that air traffic control had warned the pilots of a potential “bump” in airflow during the approach. Communications between the tower and pilot were normal on approach and it’s not clear what went so drastically wrong when the plane approached the runway
“So it was windy. But the airplanes are designed and certified to handle that,” said John Cox, CEO of aviation safety consulting firm Safety Operating Systems in St. Petersburg, Florida. “The pilots are trained and experienced to handle that.”
The plane came to a rest at the intersection of Runways 23 and 15L, not far from the start of the runway. Just after the crash, tower controllers spoke with the crew of a medical helicopter that had just left Pearson and was returning to help.
While flights have resumed at the airport, authorities warn of potential operational delays as two runways remain closed for investigation.
Delta canceled all remaining flights to and from the airport for the rest of the day. Other airlines resumed operations at around 17:00 local time (22:00 UTC) on Monday.
References:
1 Delta flight from Minnesota crash lands upside down in Toronto amid 40-mph winds – Fox Weather – February 18, 2025
2 Endeavor Flight 4819 – Delta – February 18, 2025
3 Delta jet flips upside down on a snowy Toronto runway and all 80 aboard survive – AP – February 18, 2025
I am an Assistant Editor and Severe Weather & Science Journalist at The Watchers, specializing in real-time severe weather coverage, geophysical event reporting, and research-driven scientific analysis. You can reach me at rishav(at)watchers(.)news.
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