Flights resume at Toronto Pearson airport after crash Monday, investigation begins
Posted Feb 17, 2025 03:00:54 PM.
Last Updated Feb 18, 2025 11:01:14 AM.
Flights have resumed at Toronto’s Pearson airport, but two runways are closed as investigators from Canada’s Transportation Safety Board begin their work on what may have caused a plane crash Monday.
At least 18 people were injured after the plane crashed on landing, flipping upside down. Toronto Pearson said the incident happened upon landing and involved a Delta Airlines plane arriving from Minneapolis just after 2 p.m. on Monday.
Arrivals and departures have resumed at the airport after being put on hold for several hours.
No one was killed in the crash.
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The plane arrived at Pearson amid blowing snow following a winter storm that hit the Toronto region over the weekend.
Ornge says they transported one pediatric patient to Sick Kids, a male patient in his 60s to St. Michael’s Hospital, and a third patient to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto. All three suffered critical injuries in the crash but are expected to survive.
A spokesperson with Toronto Pearson confirmed 18 people had been injured in the crash of the 76 passengers and four crew on board. Seventeen people were transported to hospital right after the crash, while the last person was transported after the others.
There were 22 Canadians on board, while the rest were multinational.
Some passengers have already been reunited with friends and family while others “are in a comfortable place right here at the airport, in an environment where getting a lot of care and support from my staff,” said Pearson CEO Deborah Flint.
The airport’s fire chief, Todd Aitken, said it was “really important that we do not speculate” on the cause of the crash. “What we can say is the runway was dry, and there were no crosswind conditions,” he said.
Delta Airlines says the flight, operated by Endeavor Air, using a Mitsubishi CRJ-900LR aircraft, was involved in a single-aircraft accident at the airport. Endeavor is a subsidiary of Delta based out of Minneapolis.
Delta cancelled all their flights in and out of Pearson for the rest of the day.
“The hearts of the entire global Delta family are with those affected by today’s incident at Toronto-Pearson International Airport,” read a statement from Delta CEO Ed Bastian. “I want to express my thanks to the many Delta and Endeavor team members and the first responders on site.”
Incoming flights were diverted to Montreal for several hours, but Pearson confirmed that arrivals and departures had resumed at 5 p.m. on Monday.
Flint said three runways are currently in operation, and the two others will be closed for an investigation.
“We do expect that there will be some operational impact and some delays at the airport over the next few days while the two runways remain closed for the investigation, and we will be sharing information periodically for those traveling to continue to look at our website and be in touch with your respective carrier as well,” shared Flint.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) said they are deploying a team of investigators to the incident. “The TSB will gather information and assess the occurrence.”
Doug Ford responded to the crash, saying he was relieved there were no casualties. “Provincial officials are in contact with the airport and local authorities and will provide any help that’s needed.”
Audio recording from the Pearson airport tower shows Delta Air Lines flight 4819 was cleared to land at about 2:10 p.m. ET, and the tower warned the pilots of a possible air flow “bump” in the glide path from an aircraft in front of it.
There were no further conversations with the Delta flight until the tower confirmed at 2:12 p.m. that a plane had crashed, with air controllers quickly redirecting traffic to accommodate the crash scene.
The CRJ900, a popular regional jet, was developed by Canadian aerospace company Bombardier.
The last major crash at Pearson was on Aug. 2, 2005, when an Airbus A340 landing from Paris skidded off the runway and burst into flames amid stormy weather. All 309 passengers and crew aboard Air France Flight 358 survived the crash.
With files from The Canadian Press
