Passengers describe ordeal after Delta flight crashes with 80 people on board

February 18, 2025

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Just three weeks ago, we covered the horrific incident of an American Airlines flight colliding with a military helicopter. In that unfortunate incident, none of the passengers on board survived. However, in this bizarre incident, a Delta flight crashed and got turned upside down. Fortunately, all the 80 passengers escaped alive in spite of the horrific incident at Toronto’s Pearson airport.

Delta Flight crashes – turns upside down

Delta flight 4819 was on its way from Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport to Toronto’s Pearson airport. The Delta flight, operated by Endeavor Air, crashed at around 2:15 PM ET.

As per several reports, passengers were literally hanging like bats once the jet turned upside down, trying to cling on. Thankfully, no fatalities were reported as of Monday night. However, 18 people were injured during the incident.

So, what really caused the crash? While the investigation is still ongoing, this video on CBC provides a reasonable explanation.

As per aviation experts quoted by CNN, aviation safety measures averted a crisis which could have been a lot worse.

““Everything that could go wrong went wrong, yet 80 people survived the accident,” said David Soucie, a CNN safety analyst and former Federal Aviation Administration safety inspector.

Soucie said the crash “could have been much worse,” drawing a comparison with a 1987 accident in Denver that killed 28 people when a DC-9 aircraft flipped over in similar circumstances.

Improved safety and stronger, more secure seats made the biggest difference in the two incidents, the analyst said.

Soucie also pointed out that in 1987, the wings stayed on the crashed aircraft, destroying it after it had flipped over.

In Toronto, however, the wings broke loose by design, “and that’s a good thing,” the analyst said.

“You don’t want that wing ripping the fuselage in half,” he said. “You want to make sure that it breaks away as it’s supposed to let that aircraft slowly come to a stop and that really saved a lot of lives.””

The Ordeal

CNN published passenger anecdotes describing the horrific scenes on board as the crash unfolded.

“Fire engines raced onto the tarmac and began spraying thick sheets of white fire retardant over the aircraft’s battered fuselage. It’s unclear where the fire started, but video shows the plane’s fiberglass frame had melted around the engine and thick black streaks stained its side.

After the aircraft came to a standstill, “we were upside down hanging like bats,” passenger Peter Koukov said. He was able to unbuckle himself and stand upright on the ceiling of the plane, but some people needed help getting down from their seats.

Flight attendants helped passengers crawl out of open exit doors, urging people to leave personal belongings behind, though some still exited with bags in tow, video from Koukov shows.”

The Pundit’s Mantra

Both Canadian and US authorities have assigned their respective teams to investigate the crash. As per Sean Duffy, the US Transportation Secretary, US investigators are already on their way to Toronto to help their Canadian counterparts in the investigation into this unfortunate incident.

In the meanwhile, Toronto Pearson airport will keep two runways shut as authorities complete their investigation.

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