Delta plane flipped on Toronto runway during 'clear day' after extreme snowfall, official says
Conditions were clear following days of extreme snowfall at Toronto Pearson International Airport when a Delta plane carrying 80 people flipped upside down in a fiery crash-landing, officials said, prompting questions about what caused the plane to overturn on the runway in another nightmare scenario for air travelers.
Conditions were clear following days of extreme snowfall at Toronto Pearson International Airport when a Delta plane carrying 80 people flipped upside down in a fiery crash-landing, officials said, prompting questions about what caused the plane to overturn on the runway in another nightmare scenario for air travelers.
In the days leading up to the incident, two storms dropped more than 20 inches of snow at the airport, which is more snow accumulation than the airport saw all of last winter, Toronto Pearson President and CEO Deborah Flint said at a news conference Tuesday.
“Monday was a clear day, though,” Flint said, adding that it was an “operational recovery day” for the airport after the pair of storms canceled nearly 800 scheduled flights.
Yet, when Delta Flight 4819 came in for a landing from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport around 2:15 p.m. Monday, it burst into flames upon landing and turned upside down on the tarmac, leaving 76 passengers and four crew members dangling from their seat belts, according to witnesses and a video posted on social media.
“All of a sudden, I just remember being fully sideways,” passenger Pete Koukov said on the “TODAY” show Tuesday morning. “I was looking down and just seeing like sparks and flames and whatever was grinding against the ground. It happened pretty dang quick and we were just upside down, hanging from our seat belts.”
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