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Air traffic control describes moments Delta Air Lines plane flipped over
On February 18, a passenger jet from Minneapolis crashed and flipped on its back when landing at Toronto Pearson International Airport. Now, air traffic control audio is revealing more details about Delta Air Lines flight 4819, which was left with only one wing after it crashed and rolled on the tarmac.
Passengers aboard a Delta flight were expecting a routine landing at Canada’s busiest airport, but what they got was far from ordinary.
As the aircraft – a jet carrying 76 passengers and four crew – made its final descent, witnesses reported unusual turbulence. Then, disaster struck.
The plane made a hard landing, skidding along the runway before flipping over, leaving its fuselage mangled and partially engulfed in flames.
When the jet came to a stop, some passengers fled the upside-down plane, that according to Associated Press (AP), was missing it’s right wing.
Those inside found themselves trapped, dangling upside down from their seats, desperately awaiting rescue.
Passenger John Nelson told CNN it was a typical flight – until the plane hit the runway “super hard,” went sideways and a “big fireball” was visible out the left side.
“When we got finished, I was upside down, everybody else was there as well,” Nelson said, explaining that he unbuckled himself and “tried to get out of there as quickly as possible.” “Luckily the firefighters got out of there,” he added.
Another passenger, Pete Koukov, said “we were sideways, and then we were upside down, hanging like bats.”
Emergency responders rushed to the scene within minutes, pulling survivors from the wreckage as smoke filled the cabin.
Among the 80 people on board, 18 suffered injuries, with three in critical condition. Many were treated for burns, broken bones, and head trauma.
‘Cleared to land’
And now, air traffic control audio is revealing more details about the moments after the plane crashed around 2:15 p.m. at the busy airport.
The audio was captured by LiveATC.net, a site which monitors aircraft communications.
On the day of the crash, AP writes that “Pearson was experiencing blowing snow and winds of 32 mph (51 kph) gusting to 40 mph (65 kph…The temperature was about 16.5 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 8.6 degrees Celsius).”
“The Delta flight was cleared to land at about 2:10 p.m. Audio recordings show the control tower warned the pilots of a possible air flow ‘bump’ on the approach.”
After the flight was cleared for landing, a voice is heard saying, “We need crash fire rescue on the runway.”
“This airplane…uh…just crashed on 23,” says another person of runway 23, where the plane came to a rest.
Air traffic control replies: “Yeah, we’re on it. We got someone coming out.”
‘Upside down and burning’
Next, an air traffic controller is heard speaking with an air ambulance (ORNGE) dispatched to the scene. The air traffic controller is heard warning the pilot that people are on the runway surrounding the overturned plane.
“Just so you’re aware, there’s people outside, walking around the aircraft there,” the air traffic controller is heard saying.
The helicopter pilot is then heard confirming the details.
“Yeah, we’ve got it. The aircraft there is upside down and burning,” they are heard saying.
String of air crashes
The crash is the latest in a string of aviation incidents across North America. In late January, an American Airlines jet collided in mid-air with a U.S. army helicopter in Washington, D.C., killing all 67 people on board.
This month, seven people died and 24 were injured when an air ambulance crashed in Philadelphia. Another 10 people on a small commercial aircraft died when it went down off the coast of Alaska nearly two weeks ago.
How are you feeling about all these air crashes? Will it prevent you from traveling in the future? Please let us know what you think and then share this story with others so we can get the conversation started!
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