TORONTO — A Delta Air Lines plane heading from Minneapolis to Toronto crashed at Pearson airport on Monday afternoon. Images posted on social media show the plane flipped over on the tarmac.
Here's the latest (all times eastern):
8:30 p.m.
Pearson Airport's fire chief says the runway was dry and there were no "crosswind conditions" at the time of the crash.
Speaking during a brief update from the airport, Chief Todd Aitken says it is "really important that we do not speculate" on the cause of the crash.
He says 18 injured passengers were sent to hospital.
Aitken says the emergency response went as planned but it would be reviewed.
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8:25 p.m.
Travel blogger Hubert Su captured footage of the crash at Pearson airport as he was taking video of snow coming down.
Su said in an interview in Mandarin that the whole scene was terrifying and he recalled many witnesses standing beside him were sobbing after the plane crash.
Su says he was trying to take a video of snow on a runway and heard someone pointing and yelling, then saw a plane engulfed in red flames and smoke.
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7:30 p.m.
The CEO of Toronto Pearson airport says there may be delays for several days in the aftermath of today’s crash.
Deborah Flint says two runways will remain closed as the investigation continues.
She says 22 of the 78 passengers on board the flight were Canadian.
In a brief update to reporters gathered at the airport, she says 17 people were injured but everyone is expected to survive.
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7:25 p.m.
An aviation expert says it is very rare to see a transport-class airplane end up upside-down in a crash during landing.
Col. J. Joseph, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who spent 29 years as a military aviator, says while it is too early to speculate on what may have caused the crash, winds were notably strong in Toronto at that time.
Joseph, an aviation consultant based in Spanish Fort, Ala., says the high winds would be challenging for pilots, especially if they are crosswinds blowing perpendicular to the plane.
He says Toronto can present challenging landing conditions in the winter, but the intact fuselage and survivors in the crash mean that investigators will have plenty of evidence to analyze to find out what happened.
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7:05 p.m.
Airports across the country are alerting travellers of possible delays due to today's crash at Toronto's Pearson airport.
Montreal's Trudeau airport said on X that it was preparing to receive several diversion flights.
The post was made shortly before Pearson announced it had reopened following the incident with the Delta aircraft.
Trudeau airport said teams were already in action to welcome the additional flights, but warned that given the large number of passengers at Montreal, delays might occur.
Elsewhere, Halifax Stanfield airport, Calgary International Airport and Vancouver International Airport all warned that flights connected with Toronto may be affected because of the crash.
Passengers are being advised to check with their airline for changes.
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6 p.m.
Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian says the "hearts of the entire Delta family are with those affected by today’s incident at Toronto-Pearson International Airport."
Several people have been injured after a jet operated by the airline’s subsidiary Endeavor Air crashed at the Toronto airport.
In a statement posted to the airline’s website, Bastian expressed his “thanks to the many Delta and Endeavor team members and the first responders on the site.”
He says the airline is working to confirm details and will share current information on its website.
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5:30 p.m.
Arrivals and departures have resumed at Pearson airport after this afternoon's plane crash.
In a post to X, the airport says flights resumed as of 5 p.m.
It says staff with the Greater Toronto Airports Authority, the nonprofit that operates the airport, are supporting families of passengers at arrivals.
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5:20 p.m.
Delta Air Lines says the crashed flight at Pearson was carrying 76 passengers and four crew.
In a post to X, the airline described it as a “single-aircraft accident.”
It says Delta Connection Flight 4819 from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport to Pearson was operated by its subsidiary Endeavor Air.
The airline says its “primary focus is taking care of those impacted."
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4:50 p.m.
The number of people reported injured in the Pearson airport plane crash has climbed to 19.
Supt. Lawrence Saindon with Peel Regional Paramedic Services says three people, including a child, have been sent to hospital with critical but non-life-threatening injuries.
Reached by phone, he says the 16 others have minor injuries.
He says no one has died.
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4:50 p.m.
The United States secretary of transportation says investigators with the Federal Aviation Administration are en route to Toronto.
In a post on X, Secretary Sean Duffy says the Transportation Safety Board of Canada will lead the investigation.
Duffy says he's been in touch with his Canadian counterpart to offer assistance.
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4:35 p.m.
An audio recording from the tower at Pearson airport shows Delta Air Lines Flight 4819 was cleared to land at about 2:10 p.m. local time.
The tower warns the pilots of a possible air flow bump in the glide path as the plane comes in to land because of a preceding aircraft in front of it.
There are no further conversations with the Delta flight until the tower confirms at 2:12 p.m. that a plane had crashed on runway 23.
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4:30 p.m.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada says it is sending investigators to Pearson airport.
There was no immediate word on the cause of the crash involving a Delta Air Lines plane.
Images and video posted on social media show a plane flipped over on the tarmac and passengers fleeing the jet as emergency crews respond to the scene.
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4 p.m.
The ambulance service Ornge says it has transported three people with critical injuries to hospital, including a young person.
In an email, spokesperson Joshua NcNamara says one “pediatric patient” is being sent to SickKids hospital with critical injuries.
McNamara says one man in his 60s with critical injuries was sent to St. Michael’s Hospital and a woman in her 40s, also with critical injuries, was sent to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.
The number of critically injured people reported by Ornge is more than those previously reported by a spokesperson for the local paramedic service, who had said one person had critical but non-life-threatening injuries, while seven others were said to have mild to moderate injuries.
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3:50 p.m.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he’s “relieved there are no casualties” after the crash at Pearson airport.
In a post on X, he says provincial officials are in contact with the airport and local authorities and will provide help as needed.
A paramedics spokesperson has said one person is in critical condition and seven others have mild to moderate injuries.
Ford is currently campaigning as Progressive Conservative party leader ahead of a snap provincial election on Feb. 27.
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3:40 p.m.
A local paramedic spokesperson says one person is critically injured and seven others have mild to moderate injuries after the plane crash at Toronto's Pearson airport.
Supt. Lawrence Saindon with Peel Regional Paramedic Services says no other injuries had been reported and the 80 passengers and crew had all been accounted for.
Reached by phone, he says paramedics are on scene triaging patients.
He says no further details about the injured people were immediately available.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 17, 2025.
The Canadian Press
