18 Injured As Delta Plane Crashes, Flips Upside Down at Toronto Airport
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – At least 18 people were injured after a Delta Air Lines flight from Minneapolis crashed and flipped upside down upon landing at Toronto Pearson International Airport, officials said.
Fire Chief Todd Aitken confirmed the injuries following the incident involving the flight carrying 80 people.
One passenger described hanging “like bats” inside the aircraft after it came to rest inverted on the runway.
Airport CEO Deborah Flint praised the “textbook response” of first responders, which she credited with preventing fatalities.
Flint added that two runways will remain closed for several days as investigators determine the cause of the crash.
The incident follows a series of recent aviation accidents, including a midair collision between an American Airlines plane and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter near Washington DC’s Reagan National Airport less than three weeks ago.
It also comes after deadly crashes involving Jeju Air and Azerbaijan Airlines in December.
Aviation safety expert David Soucie said advancements in aircraft design and seat safety prevented the Toronto crash from being “much worse.”
“Everything that could go wrong went wrong, yet 80 people survived the accident,” said Soucie, a CNN safety analyst and former Federal Aviation Administration safety inspector.
Soucie compared the incident to a 1987 crash in Denver, where a DC-9 aircraft flipped over, killing 28 people.
He noted that improved safety features, including stronger seats and wing designs that allow them to break away during impact, played a critical role in saving lives.
“You don’t want that wing ripping the fuselage in half,” Soucie said.
“You want to make sure that it breaks away as it’s supposed to let that aircraft slowly come to a stop, and that really saved a lot of lives.”
