A preliminary report by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada reveals that the Delta Air Lines flight that crashed at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport on February 17 was descending at a high rate of speed before its disastrous landing.
The flight from Minneapolis, operated by Endeavor Air, had 80 people aboard (76 passengers and 4 crew members). Twenty-one people sustained injuries, with two reported as serious. The report released Thursday did not identify a cause for the crash.
According to the report’s second-by-second breakdown, 3.6 seconds before touchdown, the plane’s descent rate increased significantly. A second later, the enhanced ground proximity warning system triggered a “sink rate” alert. Just 1.6 seconds before touchdown, the aircraft was “slightly below the glide slope” – the system guiding controlled descent to the runway.
When the right main landing gear contacted the runway, it fractured and folded, causing the wing root to fracture between the fuselage and landing gear. The wing detached, releasing jet fuel that ignited. The aircraft then rolled to the right until completely inverted, sliding down the runway upside down with passengers suspended in their seats.
During this roll, “a large portion of the tail, including most of the vertical stabilizer and the entire horizontal stabilizer, became detached,” the report noted.
After evacuation, aircraft rescue firefighters entered the fuselage. Shortly afterward, “an explosion occurred outside the aircraft in the area of the left wing root,” which remains under investigation.
Delta stated: “For everyone at Endeavor Air and Delta, nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and our people. 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.”
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