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One year later: Delta plane crash-lands at Toronto Pearson airport

Delta flight 4819 from Minnesota hit the tarmac at Toronto Pearson International Airport, rolled on to its roof, and skidded across the runway on Feb. 17, 2025.

Updated: February 16, 2026 at 12:45PM EST

Published: February 17, 2025 at 3:47PM EST

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TSB publishes its initial findings into Flight 4819

The federal agency published its preliminary report dissecting what happened in the moments leading up to the CRJ-900's crash-landing at Toronto Pearson on Feb. 17, which sent 21 people to the hospital.

This image displays the aerial view of Flight 4819's wreckage resting on Runway 15L, with its detached wing seen in the background on Runway 23. (Peel Regional Police)

Where the plane crash-landed at Toronto Pearson

The Endeavor Air flight first struck down on the tarmac about 420 feet (128 metres) past Runway 23's threshold, the report finds. The aircraft slid further down the runway, rolling to the right until it rested belly-up on Runway 15L around 1,800 feet (nearly 549 metres) beyond the threshold.

The CRJ'900's right wing severed from the fuselage, the aircraft's body, and was found about 215 feet (65.5 metres) away from the plane.

Inside the inverted aircraft

Once the plane came to a full-stop, resting upside down, the TSB said all 80 passengers were "hanging upside down in their seats, suspended by their safety belts." Twenty-one people were injured, with two of them sustaining serious injuries, the TSB adds.

According to the federal agency, some of the passengers sustained their injuries when they unbuckled themselves from their seats and fell to the ceiling. As of March 20, the TSB said it is unaware of "any safety belt or seat failures occurring during the accident." (Transportation Safety Board of Canada)

Jammed shut

The TSB found that due to the fuselage's damage and the flight attendant jump seat blocking the flight deck door, the pilots had to use an escape hatch on the cockpit sealing to evacuate.

"The hatch opening was close to the ground, which impeded the evacuation; however, with help from a passenger, the pilots were able to egress," the report reads. (Transportation Safety Board of Canada)

The investigation into the accident continues

Thursday's findings only offer a first look into what happened that February afternoon. The flight data and cockpit records, as well as the plane's Emergency Locator Transmitter, have all been submitted for further analysis. The TSB says the investigation continues, looking at a myriad of factors to determine what caused the accident exactly. (Transportation Safety Board of Canada)