News 2025-02-18 10:50:45

Toronto plane cr.ash investigators reveal new details of moment Delta flight fl.ipp.ed as passenger describes esc.ape

Investigators have revealed there were 'no cross winds' and the runway was 'dry' at the time a Delta plane crashed and flipped at Toronto Pearson Airport.

The latest update contradicts recollections from at least one passenger on board, who told CNN he saw strong, gusty winds and runways in a 'weird condition' ahead of the incident on Monday afternoon.

John Nelson also described a 'big fireball' to the side of the plane after it flipped as passengers scrambled to exit amid fears it could explode at any moment.

Harrowing footage taken on board the plane, which was carrying 80 people, has offered a glimpse into the aftermath of the latest aviation disaster.

The plane, a Bombardier CR900, had flown from Minneapolis to Toronto when it flipped and landed upside down shortly before 3pm.

The aircraft was being operated by a regional airline, Endeavor Air.

Miraculously, everyone onboard survived. Passengers were filmed climbing out of the jet onto the icy tarmac once it had come to a stop, directed by a stoic air hostess.

Follow DailyMail.com's live blog of the latest developments.

'Do not speculate': Fire Chief shares new details about crash

Chief Todd Aitken has urged the public not to speculate about the cause of the crash as an investigation is conducted.

He said the runway was 'dry' at the time of the crash.

'This is an active investigation. It's very early on. It's important that we do not speculate. What we can say, is the runway was dry and there was no crosswind conditions.'

According to data from Environment Canada, wind gusts reached between 51 to 65 kilometres per hour at the time of the crash, with blowing snow.

'Three of our stations in the airport operating area responded with eight apparatus,' he said.

In all, 18 paramedic units arrived at the scene. When emergency services arrived, a 'self evacuation' was already taking place.

John Nelson was on board the plane when it crashed into the runway on Monday afternoon.

Speaking to CNN in the aftermath of the incident, he described the moment the plane hit the ground and went skidding across the icy runway.

'When we hit, it was super hard,' he said.

'The plane went sideways and I believe we skidded on our side and flipped over on our back.'

The moment the plane stopped, Nelson noticed 'there was a big fireball on the left side of the plane.'

He said: 'I did notice the winds were super gusty. The snow had kinda blown over the runways. So coming it was routine but it was noticeable that the runways were in kind of a weird condition.

'Thankfully everybody was okay. We tried to get off as quickly as possible.There was another explosion, but luckily, the firefighters got out of there.'