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The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) has released a more detailed, preliminary report into the Delta plane crash in Toronto last month, but stopped short of drawing any conclusions into what caused it.
Delta Air Lines flight 4819 from Minneapolis to Toronto, operated by subsidiary Endeavor Air, crash landed on Toronto Pearson Airport runway on the afternoon of Feb. 17. The CRJ-900 aircraft, manufactured by Bombardier, was carrying a total of 80 people on board — 76 passengers and four crew members.Several videos posted to social media showed the moment the plane landed, hitting the tarmac and bursting into flames with thick black smoke before flipping over on its roof and coming to a stop. Video from the runway showed the aftermath of firefighters dousing the aircraft as passengers climbed out and walked across the snowy tarmac.All passengers and crew were accounted for. There were no fatalities, however, Delta said 21 people were initially taken to hospital from the crash. Among the passengers, 22 of them were Canadian. The rest were multinational, according to Deborah Flint, president and CEO of the airport. The crash came after the Toronto-area was hit with two significant snowstorms that week, and on a day that saw very high winds.TSB’s 18-page preliminary report, released Thursday, cautioned it is “too early to draw conclusions as to the causes of this accident.”The report indicated there was a “high rate of descent” seconds before landing.It said at 2.6 seconds before touchdown, the EGPWS alert — an advanced safety system designed to alert pilots if their flight path could put them in undue proximity to the ground or an obstacle — sounded.In a video released by TSB, the lead investigator said the wreckage was towed to a nearby airplane hangar. After each component was examined, a simulation with that style aircraft was conducted to help recreate the event. “During touchdown, several things occurred,” Ken Webster said, explaining how the portions of the aircraft, such as attachments to the landing gear, fractured.
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“The right wing detached from the fuselage, releasing a cloud of jet fuel which caught fire while the aircraft began to slide along the runway, with the cockpit door jammed shut. The flight crew had to exit through the emergency hatch located on the ceiling of the cockpit.”The report indicated that the captain of the plane — an unnamed man who had worked for Endeavor Air since October 2007 — was seated in the left seat and was the pilot who was “monitoring for the flight.”The first officer — an unnamed woman who had worked for Endeavor Air since 2024 — was seated in the right seat and was the pilot flying the plane. The report detailed their backgrounds in flying. It said the captain holds an airline transport pilot certificate issued by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and is employed as a flight crew member and a simulator instructor. At the time of the crash, he had accumulated around 3,570 hours of total flight time, including 764 hours on that particular aircraft type.The report said on Feb 17, the captain began his day at Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport and it was his first flight of the day, as well as his first flight in seven days. However, in that timeframe, the captain had worked three days as an instructor and had flown 3.5 hours in the last 30 days.The woman who was piloting the plane holds an airline transport pilot certificate issued by the FAA, the report read. At the time of the crash, she had 422.3 hours of flight time, including 418.7 hours on that particular aircraft type.
The report went on and said she was on her last day of a five-day work week cycle. On the day of the crash, she had started her day in Cleveland, Ohio, with a flight that left for Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport. She had one hour and 48 minutes until her next flight. It noted over the previous 30 days, she had conducted three round-trip flights into and out of Toronto Pearson Airport, not including the Delta flight that crash landed. She had flown 56.3 hours in those 30 days.There were two flight attendants on board. One was seated in the front of the aircraft with three years of experience, all with Endeavor Air. The other flight attendant was at the back section and had 11 years of experience, five of them with Endeavor Air, the report said.The TSB outlined a list of the “current areas of focus” for the investigation.
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Metallurgical examination of the wing structureCertification (landing gear and wing structure)Evacuation / egress proceduresFlight deck door structure and designLanding techniques, hard landings, and pilot trainingCabin obstructions and impediments once invertedFlight deck secondary egress routeOrganizational and management factorsFlight attendant trainingCoordination in emergenciesARFF and emergency medical technician actions after accidentThe investigation is being led by the TSB, and being assisted by U.S. aviation representatives as well as the manufactures of the aircraft. The TSB noted the report released Thursday provides information on the progress of the investigation.The crash caused two major airport runways at Pearson to be shut down for a couple days while investigators gathered evidence and removed the wreckage.The report said the runway had recently been plowed to a width of 160 feet and that the full runway width is 200 feet. Delta Air Lines issued a statement immediately following TSB’s preliminary report release on Thursday.“For everyone at Endeavor Air and Delta, nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and our people,” it said.“That’s why we remain fully engaged as participants in the investigation led by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada. Out of respect for the integrity of this work that will continue through their final report, Endeavor Air and Delta will refrain from comment.”Delta had offered $30,000 in compensation to passengers who were on the plane and said the money “has no strings attached.”
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