Delta flight lands upside-down in Toronto, no deaths

Delta regional jet crashes at Toronto Pearson International Airport

The plane's final descent appeared normal, but 'the second that the wheels hit the ground, then everything happened,' said a passenger

(Image credit: Geoff Robins / AFP via Getty Images)

By Peter Weber, The Week US

published 18 February 2025

What happened

A Delta Air Lines regional jet from Minneapolis flipped upside-down while landing at Toronto's Pearson International Airport Monday afternoon, its tail and one wing shorn off. At least 18 of the 80 people aboard were injured, three of them seriously though none with life-threatening injuries, Delta said.

The plane's final descent appeared normal, but "the second that the wheels hit the ground, then everything happened," passenger Pete Koukov told The New York Times. "I unbuckled pretty fast and kind of lowered myself to the floor, which was the ceiling," and "people were panicking." The incident was the latest in a "string of plane crashes in recent weeks" that have "stirred fear among fliers and the aviation community," The Wall Street Journal said.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.