EXPLAINER
In the midst of windy weather following a snowstorm, the plane flipped upside down as it touched down at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Monday, injuring at least 18 people.
More information about the crash, which is just one more recent aviation disaster.
What happened and when?
Delta flight 4819 originating from Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport in the US state of Minnesota crash landed on the runway at about 3: 30pm (20: 30 GMT) on Monday.
The plane CRJ900 was manufactured by Canadian aerospace company Bombardier. The fuselage of the aircraft remained largely intact while the aircraft started to burn, prompting fire crews to extinguish them.
People were filmed leaving the flipped plane and crossing the tarmac to protect themselves from snowfall and strong winds.
What caused the landing of the aircraft?
Experts say a plane flipping upside down is unusual, but not unknown. They speculate that this happened due to the snowy, windy Toronto weather.
According to Aviation Expert Scott Hamilton, the plane may have flipped over due to the strong winds and snow. He added that flipping can be caused by factors including weather conditions, speed of approach, anomalies in braking and thruster viability.
According to John Cox, CEO of the aviation safety consulting firm Safety Operating Systems in St. Petersburg, Florida, “we’ve seen a couple of cases of takeoffs where aeroplanes have ended up inverted, but it’s pretty rare.”
Cox, who was a pilot, flew with US Air for 25 years and said the CRJ900 is equipped to handle weather like this. He claimed that the aircraft’s right wing was missing, one of the questions that still need to be answered.
Toronto was experiencing winter storms with strong winds and heavy snow in Toronto, though authorities have not yet determined the exact cause of the collision.
Around the time of landing, strong gusts of 65 km/h (40 mph) were blowing through the snow. About 22cm (8.7 inches) of snow blanketed the airport over the weekend. The previous week saw snowfall as well.
The control tower’s pilots were notified of a potential “bump” in air flow upon approaching, according to audio recordings.
What do we know about the passengers?
The plane had four members and 76 passengers on it.
According to Todd Aitken, the fire chief for Toronto Pearson, 18 injured passengers were hospitalized.
However, Ontario-based air ambulance service Ornge said on Monday that a child, a man in his 60s and a woman in her 40s were critically injured. The adults were taken to other city hospitals in the city, and the children were taken to Toronto’s SickKids hospital, according to the statement.
What is the current status of the investigation?
A team of investigators is being assembled by the Transportation Safety Board to investigate the collision.
Authorities warn of operational delays because two runways have been closed while investigation is being conducted at the airport.
Aitken stated in a late news conference on Monday that the Transportation Safety Board is looking into the crash, which is still being investigated. We shouldn’t comment at this time, I suppose.
What have authorities said?
The crash was not identified at the time of the two news conferences held by Canadian authorities.
Deborah Flint, the CEO of Greater Toronto Airports Authority, said people on board had “relatively minor injuries”.
“17 injured passengers were taken to local area hospitals. At this time, we do not know of any of those passengers having critical injuries”, she told reporters at a news conference.
No airport CEO wants to hold these kinds of press conferences, but they are required by our emergency, our operations, and our first responders, she continued.
“And again, this outcome is due in part to their heroic work and I thank them profusely”.
An 18th passenger had been taken to a hospital, according to a later update from the airport.
Source: Aljazeera
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