There were brief flames visible as a plane from the US went off the runway and overturned upon landing in Toronto, but thankfully no fatalities were recorded.
The cause of the incident remains unclear, with analysts speculating that weather conditions or the aircraft striking an object may have been contributing factors. An investigation is currently in progress.
On Monday, just after 14:00 local time (19:00 GMT), the incident took place. The plane was a CRJ-900 type that was flying as flight DL4819 for Delta Air Lines. In addition to four crew members, the flight had 76 passengers when it took off from Minneapolis, USA.
Journalist and US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) pilot Dan Ronan said the jet seemed to hit the runway as it landed, then rolled along for a while before toppling over.
Read Also: 55 Residents Scrambling Fuel From Exploded Tanker Burnt To Death
Footages Of Accident
Footage obtained by the media showed flames erupting from a section of the aircraft during the landing. Firefighters responded swiftly to extinguish the fire.
Passenger Pete Carlson described the impact as “a very forceful event,” recalling the sound of “concrete and metal” at the moment of impact. Passengers found themselves suspended upside down in their seats and had to release themselves onto the cabin ceiling before exiting the inverted aircraft.
All 80 individuals on board survived. However, eighteen people sustained injuries, with only a small number considered serious.
Delta Air Lines has pledged to provide further updates as the investigation progresses.
“The sheer survivability of this is really amazing,” Mr. Ronan told the BBC, emphasizing the structural integrity of the aeroplane’s fuselage. He also highlighted the significance of the aircraft’s high-impact 16G seats, designed to absorb substantial impact forces.
Other commentators have lauded the aircraft’s safety features. CNN analyst and former FAA inspector David Soucie stated that the plane broke apart as designed, with the detachment of the wings preventing the fuselage from tearing apart.
Possible Reason Why There Was no Fatality
Graham Braithwaite, professor of safety and accident investigation at the UK’s Cranfield University, noted that aircraft are designed to minimize potential injury to passengers in accidents. “Even the design of the seat back or the tray table is all part of how we consider making that survivable space,” he told the BBC. “And the seatbelt that people have is so important – that is the ultimate thing that stops people being thrown around the cabin like this,” he added.
The flight attendants have also been commended for their swift action in evacuating the passengers from the overturned aircraft. Emergency crews on the ground were hailed as “heroic” by the airport chief for reaching the crash site within minutes.
Mr. Carlson praised the passengers for their collective efforts in assisting one another. “What I saw was everyone on that plane suddenly became very close in terms of how to help one another, how to console one another,” he said.
Source: bbc
