TORONTO – A Delta Air Lines plane crash-landed at Toronto Pearson International Airport on February 17, 2025, flipping upside down upon landing, with 18 people reported injured, though no fatalities.
The incident occurred when Endeavor Air Flight 4819, operated by Delta’s regional partner, landed in the Canadian city with 80 people on board, including 76 passengers and four crew members.
The aircraft, a CRJ-900 jet, had been en route from Minneapolis, Minnesota, and was attempting to land at the airport in the afternoon when the accident occurred.
As the plane touched down, it reportedly skidded off the runway and flipped over, leaving its wings clipped. The cause of the crash is still under investigation, with no explanation yet provided by authorities regarding the sequence of events that led to the crash-landing.
Todd Aitken, the fire chief at Toronto Pearson Airport, confirmed that the runway was dry at the time of the incident, and there were no crosswind conditions, leaving open questions about the exact cause of the crash.
“It’s very early on. It’s really important that we do not speculate,” Aitken told the press. “What we can say is that the conditions were not contributory factors in terms of wind or runway conditions.”
Despite the dramatic nature of the crash, no fatalities were reported. However, paramedic services confirmed that three people, including a child, a man in his 60s, and a woman in her 40s, were critically injured and transported to local hospitals.
The other injured passengers were also taken to hospitals via ambulance or helicopter. Fire crews responded quickly to the scene, dousing the wreckage with water as smoke was seen emanating from the fuselage while passengers exited the plane.
Dramatic footage shared on social media captured passengers stumbling away from the overturned jet, shielding their faces from high winds and snow, which had been ongoing since a major snowstorm had hit eastern Canada over the weekend.
The Toronto airport authority temporarily suspended all flights following the crash but resumed operations about two hours later. Deborah Flint, CEO of the airport authority, praised the quick and coordinated response of the emergency crews, calling their efforts “heroic.”
John Nelson, a passenger on Flight 4819, posted a video of the crash site on Facebook, saying, “Our plane crashed. It’s upside down. Most people appear to be okay. We’re all getting off.” Delta Airlines later confirmed the incident and offered its support to those involved.
The flight operated by Endeavor Air, a subsidiary of Delta, had encountered the crash after having been delayed due to a powerful winter storm that had affected much of eastern Canada. According to airport authorities, the weather conditions remained cold and windy as the flight arrived.
Federal and provincial officials expressed relief that no fatalities had occurred. Ontario Premier Doug Ford thanked emergency responders, while Canada’s federal Transport Minister Anita Anand, along with U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, confirmed that investigation teams from both Canadian and U.S. agencies were on site.
The crash at Toronto Pearson is the latest in a series of air incidents in North America, which includes a fatal mid-air collision between a U.S. Army helicopter and a passenger jet in Washington, and a deadly crash involving a medical transport plane in Philadelphia.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada, along with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, has launched investigations to determine the cause of this latest aviation accident.
