A newly released video details a terrifying accident in Canada: a plane carrying 80 people flipped over while landing in icy and snowy conditions. The incident occurred at Toronto Pearson International Airport, where all passengers survived, but were trapped inside the aircraft, hanging upside down like "bats," prompting an emergency response from firefighters to extinguish the blaze.
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02-22, 2025Video obtained by CNN shows the aircraft making a hard landing on the runway, causing the rear landing gear to collapse and the right wing to quickly detach in a fireball. The fuselage then rolled over, eventually resting on its belly, covered in black residue. Inside the cabin, passengers wearing seatbelts were suspended in their seats. Passengers John Nielson and Peter Kukucska described the tumbling motion as leaving passengers suspended in the air.
Kukucska stated, "We were hanging upside down like bats." He unbuckled his seatbelt and stood on what was now the ceiling of the plane, but some people needed assistance getting out of their seats. Officials said a total of 21 people were taken to the hospital for treatment, including one child, and were in good condition on Monday. As of Tuesday morning (early Wednesday AEST), all but two had been discharged.
American Pete Carlson, who was also on the plane, told CBC News host Adrian Harewood that it was "amazing" that he and his fellow passengers were able to survive. Carlson recalled, "Everything just moved laterally all of a sudden. One minute you're landing, waiting to see your friends and family, and the next minute you're completely upside down." Carlson said he only suffered a gash on the top of his head after escaping the overturned plane.
Kukucska, 28, a professional skier from Colorado, told The New York Times that the flight seemed normal until the final descent. "The moment the wheels touched down, everything happened," he said. "The next thing I knew, we were sideways." Kukucska, who was sitting in a window seat, witnessed the plane catching fire. "So you look down and you see sparks and flames on the side that's making contact with the ground," he added. "We ended up completely upside down. I quickly unbuckled myself and then put myself onto the floor, which was the ceiling. People were panicking."
Kukucska shared a video of his escape from the plane on Instagram. In the video, crew members can be heard telling passengers to "leave everything." "Oh my God, I was just on that freaking plane," he said. Nielson told local media that he saw a "big ball of fire" on the left side of the plane after the crash. "When we hit, it was very violent, it hit the ground, and the plane was moving sideways," Nielson said.
Toronto Pearson International Airport said in a statement: "Delta Air Lines flight 4819, operated by Endeavor Air, crashed upon landing at Greater Toronto Airports Authority's (GTAA) Toronto Pearson International Airport at approximately 2:45 p.m. local time." The statement noted that the aircraft originated from Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport. Delta Air Lines confirmed in a statement that the plane was carrying 80 people. "The flight had 80 people on board – 76 customers and four crew members."
It is not yet known what caused the plane to flip over, but weather may have been a factor. Strong winds buffeted the Toronto area all day, and airport crews worked overnight to clear the approximately 20 centimeters of snow residue that covered the airport over the weekend. The temperature at the time was about minus 8 degrees Celsius. This terrifying incident briefly disrupted traffic at Canada's busiest airport and is sure to raise questions amid growing flight safety concerns in the United States.
Fire trucks raced onto the tarmac and began spraying thick, white fire retardant on the damaged fuselage of the aircraft. The cause of the fire is not yet clear, but video shows the plane's fiberglass frame melted around the engines, its sides streaked with thick black marks. Inside the overturned plane, flight attendants helped passengers climb out of the open exits, urging people to leave their belongings behind, but Kukucska's video shows some people still leaving with their luggage.
Evacuees jumped a few feet from the doorframe to the snow-covered ground, while fire retardant rained down on them. Some hugged themselves against the cold as they moved away from the plane, looking back at what they had just experienced. The crash is the fourth major aviation incident in North America in the past month, and comes three weeks after a U.S. American Airlines plane collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter in Washington, D.C., killing all 67 people on board.
