Authorities will look into numerous potential causes after a Delta Air Lines plane rolled upside down and burst into flames when it landed in Toronto on Monday.
As Canadian and American investigators begin to look into the cause of the crash, video footage of the crash-landing has given some aviation experts a good idea of what likely led to the frightening incident. The CRJ900, operated by Endeavor Air — a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines — departed from Minneapolis with 76 passengers and four crew members on board. A video posted on social media showed the plane approaching Toronto Pearson International Airport before hitting the runway at an odd angle and smashing its right wing into the ground.
The plane then turned upside down as it skidded across the runway before coming to a stop. Other videos showed Delta crew members helping passengers evacuate onto the runway as first responders extinguished the flames. Everyone on the plane survived, with 21 people requiring medical attention. Two people remain hospitalized as of Tuesday afternoon.
Did snow or wind play a role?
During a Tuesday press conference, Canadian authorities discussed the major snowfall the area has experienced in recent days. Since last Thursday, Toronto Pearson International Airport has been hit by two snowstorms that dumped around 20 inches of snow on the area, and the video of the landing showed snow drifting across the runway.
Crosswinds at the time of the CRJ900’s landing were between 29 and 38 mph. But Toronto Pearson Fire Chief Todd Aitken said that the runway was dry, and that there were no crosswind conditions when the plane landed around 2:15 p.m., according to the Associated Press. When asked on Tuesday about the condition of the runway and the cross-wind possibly causing the crash, the fire chief said he didn’t want to speculate and directed any questions about the cause of the crash to the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.
The board will lead the investigation into the crash, with the National Transportation Safety Board from the United States assisting in the investigation.
A retired Delta captain, who asked to remain anonymous, told The Daily Wire that the crosswind was not strong enough to be a major factor in the crash-landing.
“Keep in mind ’40 mph’ winds doesn’t mean the wind was a direct crosswind or a direct headwind,” he added. “Most likely from what I gathered yesterday at the time of the incident, the wind was approximately 40 degrees from center, so the crosswind component was around 20 knots and the headwind was around 23.”
“I do not believe that weather was a factor,” the retired aviation expert said, adding, “Any pilot should be able to handle that. It’s no big deal.”
Are the pilots at fault?
The investigation will also seek to determine if the crash was the result of human error. The retired Delta captain said that the airplane appeared to be “coming down at a pretty good clip,” meaning the pilot possibly did not “flare,” the technique pilots use to achieve a proper rate of descent before touching down.
“Normally, it would be coming down, prior to landing, somewhere in the order of 600-700 feet per minute,” the captain added. “However, as you get closer to the runway, you must reduce that rate of descent such that when you touch down, you are not going 700 feet per minute in the down direction. You’re touching down very gently.”
The pilot landing the CRJ900 in Toronto on Monday “hit the right main landing gear with such force that it snapped the gear off.”
“I hate to say it,” the captain said. “This is pilot error.”
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