As the investigation into the cause of the crash of the Delta Air Lines flight that flipped and caught fire upon landing at Toronto Pearson continues, the airline said Tuesday that 19 out of 21 passengers initially taken to Toronto-area hospitals had been released.
A video of Delta flight 4819 (operated by subsidiary Endeavor Air), which was arriving from Minneapolis at around 2:30 p.m. on Monday has emerged on social media, showing a plane bursting into flame as soon as it touched down on the runway, skidding and flipping over seconds later.
Other videos appeared to show passengers scrambling out of an upside-down cabin as workers assisted them off the plane onto the snowy tarmac, and emergency crews hosed the aircraft with water.
Peel Region paramedics say they treated a “multitude of injuries” at the scene, including back sprains and head injuries, as well as nausea from exposure to jet fuel fumes.
There were no reports of deaths in the crash as of Tuesday morning.
Paramedics said Monday that out of 80 people on the flight, at least three people, including a child, were sent to hospital with critical but non-life-threatening injuries. Others were reported to have minor injuries.
“Our most pressing priority remains taking care of all customers and Endeavor crew members who were involved,” said Delta CEO Ed Bastian in a statement.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada said Monday it was deploying a team of investigators to Pearson airport.
Airport officials have not offered details about a possible cause or what factors may have contributed to the crash. The airport’s fire chief, Todd Aitken, said at a brief press conference late Monday that “the runway was dry and there were no crosswind conditions.”
The plane arrived at Pearson amid blowing snow following a winter storm that hit the Toronto region over the weekend. Gusting winds up to 65 km/h and blowing snow were reported at the airport around the time of the crash.
Arrivals and departures at Pearson resumed by 5 p.m. on Monday, but two runways remained closed and the airport said delays were expected over the coming days as crash investigators do their work.
Pearson said flights are arriving and departing, but advised travellers to check the status of their flight before heading to the airport.
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