February 17th, 2025 was anything but normal at Toronto Pearson Internation Airport. A Delta Air Lines plane, a CRJ-900, was on its usual rote from Minneapolis to Toronto when things took a dramatic turn. Instead of a smooth landing, the plane ended up flipping over and catching fire on the runway around 2:45 p.m. local time. Fortunately, out of the 76 passengers and 4 crew members on board, everyone survived. However, 21 people had to be treated for injuries. “Being in a situation like this has to be the scariest thing to ever happen to anyone…” (James Yorgason | Freshman) “It happens so suddenly, one second your safe and the next you have a chance of not being alive in the next couple minutes. I’m so glad everyone was safe”.
So, what exactly happened? The day of the crash had clear weather, but a couple of days before, Toronto experienced some severe snowstorms, which dumped over 20 inches of snow. Investigators are looking into whether in the days leading up to the crash might have played a role. They are checking out the runway and the plane itself, but they will also be examining the plane’s black boxes These black boxes store all flight data and record the conversation between pilots.
On the day of the crash, the win was pretty strong, which might have contributed to the plane landing hard and then flipping over. It wasn’t just the wing, though; some passengers reported feeling a strong gust just before landing. Investigators will be talking all of this into account as they try to figure out what went wrong.
The airport’s emergency teams were quick to respond. They managed to help everyone get out safely despite the smoke and fire. The flight crew also played a crucial role in making sure the passengers evacuated the plane quickly. Delta Air Lines praised the flight crew for their quick action and bravery during the emergency
Delta is also offering $30,000 to each passenger as a gesture of goodwill. This money is meant to help cover any immediate expenses or hardships that passengers might have faced due to the crash.
The crash has left many people shaken, and the investigations is still ongoing. It’s going to take some time to find out what exactly caused the crash. For now, passengers and their families are just grateful that everyone made it out alive. “I remember I heard about a plane crash when I was little, and my parents didn’t want to go on an airplane for a while because they were scared something like that might happen but I’m just happy that most of the people got off that plane okay”. (William Taylor | Freshman)
