Delta Connection Flight 4819, an Endeavor Air CRJ-900 aircraft, crashed while landing on runway 23 at Toronto Pearson International Airport yesterday afternoon. The aircraft, which took off from Minneapolis International Airport, was carrying 80 people (76 passengers and 4 crewmembers), and suffered severe structural damage upon contact with the runway.

In detail, according to initial reconstructions, when the plane touched down around 2:15 pm local time, the right main landing gear collapsed, causing a fire. The images and videos taken on site show how, following the collapse, the right wing, in friction with the ground for about three seconds along the runway, acted as a lever, leading to the plane flipping upside down. Preliminary investigations conducted by the authorities have highlighted significant structural damage, with the right wing breaking and damage also to the tail control system.

At the height of this movie-like sequence, only luck would have it that there were no fatalities; however, the updated toll speaks of 18 passengers rushed to local hospitals (some of whom have already been released), three of whom are in serious condition. Delta Air Lines immediately activated its information center to provide updates and assistance to passengers and their families. Additionally, following the incident, all flights to and from Toronto Airport were cancelled for the remainder of the evening, while Delta issued a travel exemption to affected customers.

According to the investigation, it appears that the weather conditions at the time of the accident played a role. At approximately 2:00 pm local time, the airport's automated ground observation system recorded winds from the west (270°) at 28 knots, with gusts up to 35 knots, surface visibility of 6 miles, heavy snow and a cloud layer at 3,400 feet Agl. Twenty-four minutes later, the data reported similar conditions, with winds of 20 knots and gusts up to 32 knots, confirming a particularly critical operating climate for flight operations.

Endeavour Air, a subsidiary of Delta based in Minneapolis, will work with the relevant agencies to implement the necessary corrective measures and ensure that increasingly high safety standards are met, in line with international best practices. This serious episode, although it has not caused any victims, represents a wake-up call for the entire aviation sector, especially in light of the many, too many accidents, even very serious ones, and incidents that have been occurring in the United States for some months, somehow justifying the measures that, although questionable for some, the Trump presidency through the secretary of the Dot Sean Duffy is implementing to redefine the contours of a new air traffic control system (see AVIONEWS 1 and 2).

Below are the videos of the sequence of events and the evacuation of passengers, the first one released on YouTube by "The Sun", the second one by "Sky News Australia":