All 21 passengers injured in Delta plane crash at Toronto’s Pearson Airport released from hospital
Cranes lift the wreckage of Delta Flight 4819 from the runway onto a truck at Toronto Pearson International Airport, in Mississauga, on Feb. 19.Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press
All 21 people hospitalized after Monday’s crash of Delta Air Lines flight 4819 at Toronto Pearson International Airport have been released, the airline said on Thursday morning.
The wreck of the Bombardier-made CRJ900 was removed from the runway late Wednesday and taken to an airport hangar, where investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada will continue their work, aided by data from the flight recorders.
“Much work has been conducted, and much work remains,” the TSB said in a statement.
Two runways are still not in service and it is not clear when normal operations will resume. Passengers should check with their airlines for cancellations or delays, Toronto Pearson duty manager Jake Keating said in a TV interview on Thursday. A spokeswoman for the airport declined to comment.
The crash and resulting investigation closed two of the airports’ longest runways.
Seventy-six passengers and four crew were on board the Delta flight, operated by Endeavor Air, when it crashed on landing, losing a wing and sliding down the runway in flames before coming to rest upside down. There were no fatalities.
Experts who have seen a video of the crash say the plane came in hard, and with its nose unusually level with the tarmac.
“It was a hard landing,” said Hassan Shahidi, president of the Flight Safety Foundation, a non-profit group based in Virginia. “We know there were weather issues, blowing snow and gusting winds, which may be a factor in this. There are other things that the investigators will be looking at, including the profile of the approach, the speed, and the aircraft performance.”
Delta said it is offering US$30,000 to each passenger, and has staff in Toronto helping with meals, hotels and transportation. The airline said it trying to return customers’ luggage but will first clean the bags of “harmful fluids” that spilled when the plane’s fuel tanks ruptured. Delta spokeswoman Samantha Moore Facteau said the payment has “no strings attached” and does not affect passengers’ rights.
Sunwing Airlines cancelled most of its sun-spot flights on Wednesday and at least 13 on Thursday, disappointing passengers and leaving others stranded at their holiday destinations. Mr. Keating said the airport would clear gate slots and luggage carousels for Sunwing’s “rescue flights” in the coming days. Air Canada also cancelled a handful of southbound flights.