The Transportation Safety Board (TSB) of Canada has provided an initial update on its investigation of the safety event involving the Endeavor Air Mitsubishi CRJ900 , which was operating a flight on behalf of Delta Connection, that happened in Toronto, Canada, on February 17.
Dozens of investigators collecting information
In a statement published on February 19, Ken Webster, the manager of regional operations of Ontario at the TSB, detailed that a team of more than 20 investigators has been examining the wreckage of the CRJ900, conducting interviews, and collecting data about the incident to begin the process of determining causes and contributing factors that led to the event.
Webster added that Transport Canada (TC), the National Transportation Safety Board ( NTSB ), the Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA ), the manufacturer (Bombardier sold the assets of the CRJ program to Mitsubishi in 2020), and Endeavor Air are supporting the investigation.
Furthermore, the TSB has been in coordination with the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) and Peel Regional Police.
The CRJ900 crashed at Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) on February 17. Operating Delta Air Lines Flight 4819 , the regional jet crashed while landing at the airport.
Videos shared on social media showed the aircraft landing at the airport, swaying right, and then flipping. Miraculously, and due to the exemplary efforts of the flight crew, all 76 passengers safely evacuated the regional jet. The four Endeavor Air employees also safely disembarked the belly-up CRJ900.
Impacting the runway
Webster affirmed that the CRJ900 was operating a flight with 80 people onboard from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) to Toronto-Pearson.
“[The CRJ900] impacted the runway during landing. Following this initial impact, parts of the aircraft separated, and a fire ensued. […] the fuselage came to rest slightly off the right side of the runway, upside down, facing the other direction.”
According to the TSB’s representative, the board’s other duties include examining the wreckage and the runway. The TSB had already removed the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and the flight data recorder (FDR) and sent them to its lab for further analysis.
Webster concluded that it was too early to say what caused the accident, promising to share more information once the TSB had it.
Related Delta Endeavor CRJ900 Crash In Toronto On Landing: Everything We Know So Far The NTSB will join the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) of Canada to investigate the Delta Connection CRJ900 incident at Toronto-Pearson.
21 injuries
Meanwhile, Delta Air Lines’ latest update, published on February 18, detailed that, in total, 21 passengers were transported to local hospitals. As of early February 18, 19 had been released.
Ed Bastian, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Delta Air Lines , said that now, the most pressing priority remains taking care of the customers and the Endeavor Air crew members.
Photo: Minh K Tran | Shutterstock
“We’ll do everything we can to support them and their families in the days ahead, and I know the hearts, thoughts, and prayers of the entire Delta community are with them.”
Bastian expressed his gratitude to all the first responders and medical teams that treated the 80 people who were onboard the regional jet.
Delta Air Lines and Delta Connection flights have resumed at Toronto-Pearson. However, two flights were operating with larger aircraft on February 18 to allow for greater capacity. The airline has an active travel waiver for travelers flying to Toronto-Pearson until February 20.