New videos from Canada, released on Tuesday, document the crash of a Delta Air Lines plane a day before in Toronto. Miraculously, the crash resulted in no fatalities, with only 18 injured out of the 80 passengers and crew members on board.
Plane crashes and flips over
In one video from Toronto's Pearson International Airport, the plane is seen approaching the runway covered in heavy accumulated snow. Upon contact with the ground, sparks can be seen, followed by flames engulfing the aircraft, thick smoke rising, and then the plane flipping over. Another video, filmed by a passenger inside the plane, shows the evacuation process: a woman is seen exiting through the aisle, supported by people waiting outside, followed by the person filming.
Once outside in the snow, the passenger looks around and exclaims, "Oh my God! Wow, I was on that plane!" The plane is shown flipped on its back with some scorch marks, as more passengers continue to evacuate one by one.
The crash occurred on Monday at 2:23 p.m. local time, at the end of an 86-minute flight from Minneapolis. The plane carried 76 passengers and four crew members. Only 18 were injured, three of them seriously, including a child. In total, 15 required hospitalization, though some were released home within several hours.
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Even now, the cause of the crash remains unknown. Following the incident, dozens of flights scheduled to depart from or land at Pearson Airport were delayed. Prior to the crash, there were already flight delays due to severe weather conditions and heavy snow in the area. Around the time of the crash-landing, the airport and its surroundings experienced strong winds and freezing temperatures. Over the past few days, a snowstorm has hit the region, resulting in 8.6 inches of snow accumulating at the airport.
One of the passengers, John Nelson, who shared a video of the crash aftermath, told CNN that there was no indication of anything wrong before landing. "We hit the ground and then flipped over," he said. "I managed to release my seatbelt and kind of fell and pushed myself toward the ground. People were sort of hanging and needed help to get down, while others managed to get down on their own."
Michael J. McCormick, an aviation management expert, stated that a situation in which a plane flips completely and lands on its roof is extremely rare. He emphasized that the fact that 80 people survived such an event is a testament to the advancements in aviation engineering and technology. According to him, not long ago, an incident like this would have resulted in multiple fatalities.