Delta Flight Crashes While Landing In Toronto—What To Know
Key Facts
Toronto’s Pearson International Airport reported at 3 p.m. EST it was “aware of an incident” involving a Delta flight arriving from Minneapolis, saying emergency services were responding and “all passengers and crew are accounted for.”
Delta confirmed its aircraft—operated by subsidiary Endeavor Air—was involved in a “single-aircraft accident” Monday afternoon, with 76 passengers and four crew members on board.
The exact circumstances of the crash are still unclear, though early photos from Reuters and Canada’s CTV News show the plane upside down on the runway, and in an audio recording quoted by CTV, an air traffic controller said the aircraft was “upside down and burning.”
At least 15 people are so far believed to be injured, CTV reported as of 4:15 p.m. EST, with three people, including a child, taken to the hospital with critical injuries while 12 others were transported to the hospital with minor injuries.
No fatalities have been reported, according to Delta, and Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Monday he is “relieved there are no casualties after the incident at Toronto Pearson.”
Flights going into and out of the Toronto airport are now suspended, with Canadian outlet CBC reporting the airport’s runways are expected to be closed at least until Tuesday.
What To Watch For
Information is still emerging about the circumstances behind the crash and the extent of any injuries onboard. Sources cited by ABC News say an investigation into the crash is already underway, with the Federal Aviation Administration saying the Transportation Safety Board of Canada will lead the probe.
Key Background
The plane crash comes at what’s already been a fraught time for air travel, following a recent fatal plane crash at Washington D.C.’s Ronald Reagan National Airport as a flight collided with a military helicopter. Several smaller flight crashes in Philadelphia, Alaska and Georgia have also raised anxiety about air travel, particularly as President Donald Trump’s administration and billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency have moved forward with cuts at the FAA. Multiple news outlets reported late Sunday that nearly 300 FAA staffers were fired over the weekend. The cuts have drawn widespread condemnation amid the anxiety in the wake of the Reagan Airport crash, with the union representing the terminated workers saying the “hastily made” layoffs will be “dangerous” for public safety and decrying the staff cuts as “especially unconscionable in the aftermath of three deadly aircraft accidents in the past month.” Musk claimed on X on Sunday evening his company SpaceX will play a role in federal aviation in the Trump administration, tweeting, “SpaceX engineers will help make air travel safer.”
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