Survivors of Delta Plane Toronto Crash Speak Out, Describing Their Experience

Strong winds swept across Toronto Pearson Airport on Monday afternoon as a Delta flight from Minneapolis, carrying 80 passengers and crew, prepared to land. Snow swirled around the aircraft as it descended, but moments later, it crashed into the runway. Fire crews rushed to extinguish the flames around the overturned jet.

Despite the violent impact, everyone on board survived. Video footage obtained by CNN shows the plane landing hard, its rear landing gear collapsing. The right wing was torn off in a fireball, and the fuselage flipped before skidding to a stop. Inside, passengers hung from their seats, held in place by seat belts.

Eighteen people sustained injuries and were taken to hospitals. Officials confirmed that a child was among them but in good condition.

“We are very grateful there was no loss of life and relatively minor injuries,” said Deborah Flint, CEO of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority.

The crash temporarily halted operations at Canada’s busiest airport and raised concerns over flight safety. This was the fourth major aviation accident in North America within a month. Three weeks earlier, an American Airlines plane collided midair with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter in Washington, DC, killing all 67 people aboard.

In Toronto, passengers evacuated the overturned CRJ900 aircraft, operated by Delta’s regional partner Endeavor Air, as first responders covered the wreckage in fire retardant. Some passengers jumped from the plane’s exit doors, landing on the icy tarmac, clutching jackets and small bags.

‘The Aircraft is Upside Down and Burning’

Delta Flight 4819 took off from Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport earlier that day and reached Toronto Pearson International Airport around 2 p.m. local time.

Toronto had experienced strong winds throughout the day. Airport crews had worked overnight to clear nearly eight inches of snow from the runways. As the plane approached, air traffic controllers warned the pilots about 38 mph wind gusts.

“Might be a slight bump in the glide path,” an air traffic controller said. “There will be an aircraft in front of you.”

Within moments, the aircraft made a hard landing. The right wing hit the ground and was torn away, engulfed in flames. The plane rolled to the right as it slid down the runway, flipping upside down. Inside, passengers remained strapped in, now suspended in the air.

Passenger Peter Koukov recalled that he “didn’t know anything was the matter” until the plane struck the ground and felt like it had turned sideways. Speaking on CNN’s “Erin Burnett Out Front,” he described the disorientation that followed.

John Nelson, another passenger, said, “When we got finished, I was upside down, everybody else was there as well. We tried to get out of there as quickly as possible.”

After exiting the aircraft, he saw another explosion. “Luckily, the firefighters got out of there,” he said.

A medical helicopter flying nearby changed course to assist. As it neared the scene, air traffic control cautioned the pilots that people were walking around the wreckage.

“Yeah, we’ve got it. The aircraft is upside down and burning,” a helicopter pilot responded.

‘We Were Hanging Like Bats’

Firefighters quickly covered the aircraft in thick layers of fire retardant. The cause of the fire remains unclear, but footage shows that flames melted parts of the plane’s fiberglass frame, leaving deep black streaks along the fuselage.

Koukov recalled the moment the plane came to a stop. “We were upside down hanging like bats,” he said. He managed to unbuckle himself and stand upright on what was now the ceiling, but others needed assistance getting down.

Nelson described the scene as chaotic. He and his seatmate released their seat belts and dropped to the floor. People were shouting for them to exit, and they rushed toward an opening.

Another passenger, Peter Carlson, told CNN partner CBC that the upside-down plane was filled with debris. “It was cement and metal,” he said.

His immediate thought was to escape. “The absolute initial feeling is just need to get out of this.”

Carlson also noted how the situation brought passengers together. “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 told CBC.

“That was powerful, but there was definite: ‘What now? Who is leading? How do we find ourselves away from this?’” he said.

Passengers Evacuate in the Cold

The crash forced Toronto Pearson International to temporarily close all five of its runways, delaying flights and causing several to divert to nearby airports.

Inside the plane, flight attendants assisted passengers in crawling out through emergency exits. They urged everyone to leave behind personal belongings, though some evacuees still carried bags as they exited. Video from Koukov shows passengers jumping down several feet onto snow-covered ground as fire retardant sprayed from above.

Once outside, some hugged themselves against the cold as they moved away from the wreckage, looking back at what they had just experienced.

Nelson said that while some people suffered injuries, most appeared unharmed. He admitted he was shaken by the crash, struggling to process how quickly everything had unfolded.