Toronto plane crash: Audio shows officials reacting to 'upside down and burning' Delta jet on tarmac

Fox News

18-02-2025

Air traffic control audio released on Monday shows the tense moment officials realized that Delta Connection flight 4819 was burning on the tarmac of Toronto Pearson Airport.
The flight, which involved a CRJ-900 jet operated by Endeavor Air, crashed while landing at the Canadian airport at around 2:15 p.m. on Monday. 80 people, including 76 passengers and 4 crew members, were on board at the time.
No one was killed in the crash, though at least 18 injuries were reported, including three critical injuries. At roughly 2:13 p.m., an official was heard saying, "This airplane just crashed."
"Just so you're aware, there's people also walking around the aircraft there," an observer says moments later.
"Yeah, we've got it," a man is heard responding. "The aircraft there's upside down and burning."
The flight left Minneapolis-St. Paul airport earlier that day. Operations at Toronto Pearson Airport paused in the wake of the incident, though departures and arrivals resumed at around 5 p.m.
Of the three critically injured patients, one was a four-year-old child taken to The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. The two other patients were taken by air ambulance to two different trauma centers in Toronto: Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center and St. Michael's Hospital.
Peel Regional Paramedic Services Superintendent Lawrence Saindon told Fox News Digital that among the critical injuries, none were life-threatening.
"The remaining ones are all walking wounded, with cuts and scrapes, nothing serious at all," Saindon said.
In a statement on X, Delta said that its primary focus is "taking care of those impacted," and CEO Ed Bastian issued a statement expressing sympathy for those affected by the flight.
"The hearts of the entire global Delta family are with those affected by today's incident at Toronto-Pearson International Airport," Bastian's statement read. "I want to express my thanks to the many Delta and Endeavor team members and the first responders on site."
Emergency response expert Jason Pack told Fox News Digital that the incident highlights how Canadian officials react differently in these situations than Americans.
"Canada's emergency response system shares many similarities with other countries, but also key differences in how first responders work together," Pack noted, adding that Canada's airport firefighters are "highly specialized" in aircraft emergencies.
"[Canadian] paramedics use a structured triage system to sort and transport patients to trauma centers," Pack added. "However, unlike in the U.S., where firefighters often double as paramedics, Canada keeps these roles separate, meaning EMS teams must arrive in large numbers to handle medical care."
Authorities are actively investigating the incident.