How did a jet flip upside down on a Toronto runway and everyone survive?
Feb 19 (Reuters) - Investigators are probing the causes of an unusual plane crash at Canada's largest airport on Monday, when a regional jet flipped upside down upon landing during windy weather, sending 21 of the 80 people on board to hospital.
Video shows the Delta Air Lines (DAL.N), opens new tab plane belly up and missing its right wing at Toronto's Pearson Airport, and of the crash that involved no fatalities, circulated widely on social media.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada said on Tuesday that parts of the plane -- a Bombardier-made (BBDb.TO), opens new tab CRJ900 -- separated after impact and the fuselage came to rest slightly off the right side of the runway, upside down, facing the other direction.
The TSB said it is too early to know what happened and why. Here is what we know about this accident and similar crashes.
HOW DOES A PLANE LAND UPSIDE DOWN?
U.S. aviation safety expert Anthony Brickhouse said aircraft are normally designed to land first on the two main landing gear, and then the nose gear. While the cause of the accident is unclear, the type of impact on the runway likely damaged the landing gear, leaving the plane imbalanced.
Brickhouse said that the plane ending up pointing in the opposite direction speaks to the amount of force and speed that led it to change direction.
"With all the forces and everything going on, if that wing is not there to support the aircraft it's going to go over," Brickhouse said. "It's not something that we see regularly, but when structures start failing they can't do their job and the aircraft is going to react to the different forces on it."
HOW DID EVERYONE SURVIVE?
Passengers say they were hanging upside down in their seats after the crash.
"All of the passengers were wearing the safety belts. This prevented more serious injuries from occurring," said Mitchell Fox, director of the Asia Pacific Centre for Aviation Safety.
Airplane seats are designed to withstand the force of 16 times the normal pull of gravity, or 16Gs, in a crash, whereas wings and fuselage are designed to handle 3-5Gs.
"In an impact-survivable crash, it's more important for the seats to hold up, giving passengers the best chance of survival," said Raj Ladani, a program manager for aerospace engineering at Australia's RMIT University.
Good evacuation is key to air accident survivability, as witnessed last year when all 379 people escaped a burning Japan Airlines plane after a runway collision.
"The crew did a remarkable job of evacuating all of the passengers expeditiously," Fox said of the Delta crash.
HAS THIS HAPPENED BEFORE?
While rare, there have been cases of large jets flipping over on landing, including three accidents involving McDonnell Douglas' MD-11 model.
In 2009, a FedEx freighter turned over on landing in windy conditions on the runway at Tokyo's Narita airport, killing both pilots. The left wing was broken and separated from the fuselage attaching point and the airplane caught fire.
In 1999, a China Airlines flight inverted at Hong Kong while landing during a typhoon. The plane touched down hard, flipped over and caught fire, killing three of 315 occupants.
In 1997, another FedEx freighter flipped over at Newark in the United States, with no fatalities.
Brickhouse said it is too early to draw any conclusions from these earlier cases, especially as the MD-11 is a three-engine aircraft and the CRJ900 has two engines mounted toward the back of the aircraft, producing different flight dynamics.
HOW WILL THE INVESTIGATION PROCEED?
Unlike other investigations in which parts of the plane have gone missing, and there are mass fatalities, investigators will be able to interview all 76 passengers and four crew.
Investigators have access to the fuselage and wing, which are on the runway, and the black boxes -- the flight data and cockpit voice recorders -- have been sent for analysis.
"This is going to be a textbook investigation," Brickhouse said. "Some accidents, a lot of the pieces of the puzzle are missing. But right now looking at this accident, all the puzzle pieces are there. It's just you piecing them back together at this point."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
2 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Air India crash has highest number of British deaths in a flight disaster since 9/11 terror attacks
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) THE Air India crash has resulted in the highest number of British deaths in a flight disaster since the 9/11 terror attacks. A total of 52 British citizens were last night missing, feared dead, after rescue teams recovered more than 200 bodies at the crash site. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 14 Firefighters hose down the scene after the Air India horror crash Credit: Reuters 14 Landing gear from the plane at the scene Credit: EPA 14 The tail of the plane is seen hanging from the edge of a building after the crash Credit: AFP The toll of 67 Brits killed in the 9/11 attacks in 2001 on New York's World Trade Centre was higher. The last major UK air disaster saw 47 people killed in January 1989 when a Boeing 737 attempting an emergency landing at East Midlands Airport crashed on an embankment of the M1 near Kegworth, Leics. In August 1985, a British Airtours Boeing 737 bound for Corfu caught fire on the runway at Manchester Airport, killing 55 on board. But the deadliest air crash in Britain remains the 1972 Staines Air Disaster, when a BEA flight crashed on take-off from Heathrow. All 118 people on board were killed. READ MORE ON AIR INDIA CRASH LEAD UP TO DISASTER I was on doomed jet HOURS before crash - 'nothing' on board was working And in 1988, the Pan Am Flight 103 Lockerbie terror attack killed 43 British citizens, including 11 on the ground in the Scottish border town. Last night, a team of British air crash investigators was being rushed to the crash scene in Ahmedabad, India, as theories swirled about possible causes of the disaster. They included pilot error, a bird or drone strike, or a freak change in wind direction causing a deadly double-engine stall. Concerns over possible pilot error by experienced Captain Sumeet Sabharwal centred on video of the Dreamliner's plunge. It appeared to show the twin-engine jet's wing flaps retracted — possibly too early — moments before the crash. Pilots and experts said it is vital that the flaps are set to the correct position at take-off to maximise lift. Air India passenger plane 'carrying up to 242 people heading for UK' crashes in fireball near Ahmedabad Airport Wheels and the undercarriage are also supposed to be lifted quickly once the plane is airborne, to reduce drag. But video footage of the crash jet shows its wheels were still down as it began descending. A disastrous strike from a flock of birds is also possible, but not obvious from video footage. Weather may also be a factor, with temperatures at the time of take-off close to 40C (104F). But reports suggested the air was relatively still and there were no signs of freak gusts, either from locals or on the video. The only other possible cause would be a technical fault in one of the most modern and reliable aircraft flying today. 14 December 1988: 43 Brits died in the Lockerbie terrorist bombing Credit: Getty 14 September 2001: 67 Brits died in jet attack on the Twin Towers Credit: Reuters 14 June 2025: 52 UK residents missing in today's crash A man who claimed he was a passenger on the doomed plane on a previous flight hours earlier posted a video appearing to show the air conditioning, TV screens and lights not working on board. Akash Vatsa posted on X that he noticed 'unusual things' during its flight from Delhi to Ahmedabad on Thursday morning. In the footage, he can be heard saying: 'The AC is not working at all. As usual, your TV screens are also not working, neither is the button to call the cabin crew. Nothing is working. Not even the light is working.' Mr Vatsa said he originally filmed the clip to make a complaint to Air India, but shared it online following the disaster to highlight issues with the doomed plane. 14 Since its launch in 2011, the Boeing Dreamliner has had a near- faultless safety record and been involved in no fatal accidents. But teams of Boeing experts were being scrambled in the US last night in a bid to head off safety concerns — which have blighted the company's image in recent years. There are more than 1,100 787s in service, with most major international airlines prizing the model's fuel efficiency and low noise levels. Officials from India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau were last night scouring the crash scene for the jet's black boxes, which should provide vital data. FOUR CRASH THEORIES WING FLAPS IN WRONG POSITION VIDEO evidence suggests the flaps were retracted and landing gear down, which would have meant minimal lift and increased drag. One theory is the landing gear was stuck and pilots retracted the flaps to reduce drag or the flaps were faulty, causing the plane to stall. A BIRD STRIKE CRIPPLED ENGINES A BIRD strike could have taken out both of the plane's General Electric engines. In 2021, a Dreamliner aborted take-off in Mexico after birds flew into one of its engines. A study in 2018 found Ahmedabad airport had 'a high potential of bird-aircraft collision hazards'. MISTAKE BY ONE OF THE PILOTS THE 787-8 is highly automated with pilots making key decisions, but human error cannot be ruled out. There was a mayday from the cockpit. Capt Sumeet Sabharwal, a trained flight instructor, had 8,000 hours' experience and his co-pilot more than 1,000. PLANE DIDN'T USE ENOUGH RUNWAY PLANES get less lift on a hot day due to lower air density, so need to go faster. Flight AI171 took off in 40C heat in the early afternoon sunshine. It's suggested the amount of runway used was less than 2,000m when a full plane on a hot day usually needs a run of 2,500m. They record all actions taken by pilots and audio from the cockpit. Lt Col John R Davidson, a former US Air Force pilot and commercial aviation safety consultant, said: 'There are a number of possible scenarios — thrust or engine performance issues, excessive aircraft weight, poor flap configuration — or a more critical failure that affected the aircraft's ability to climb. 'Weather, wind shear or even bird strike can't be ruled out.' Capt Saurabh Bhatnagar, a former senior pilot, said footage showing the plane's descent 'looked like a case of multiple bird hits wherein both the engines have lost power'. He added: 'The take-off was perfect and just, I believe, short of taking the gear up, the aircraft started descending. 'This can happen only in the case the engine loses power or the aircraft stops developing lift.' India yesterday accepted an offer of assistance from the UK's specialist air accident investigation team and a unit was en route. Boeing boss Kelly Ortberg last night said: 'Our deepest condolences go out to the loved ones of the passengers and crew on board Air India Flight 171, as well as everyone affected in Ahmedabad.' 14 Brit couple Fiongal and Jamie Greenlaw-Meek, who are feared dead, posted this a video from the airport before boarding the doomed flight 14 Also feared dead are British couple Akeel Nanabawa and Hannaa Voraje with their daughter Sara Credit: PA 14 Pilots issued a mayday call in the air Credit: X 14 Huge plumes of black smoke could be seen billowing into the sky Credit: X 14 Video showing Brit survivor Vishwash Kumar Ramesh walking out of the crash Credit: Twitter 14 People stand near debris at the site of the plane crash Credit: EPA 14 Firefighters work at the site of the plane crash Credit: AFP
Scottish Sun
4 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Heartbreaking final photo of family of five smiling moments before takeoff on doomed Air India jet
A FAMILY shared a heartbreaking selfie ahead on board the ill-fated flight that crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad today. The family of five from Rajasthan, India, posted the happy picture ahead of the shocking tragedy. Advertisement 5 A doctor couple and their three young children 5 Emergency personnel and other people gather near damaged property, at the site where an Air India plane crashed Credit: Reuters 5 Air India Flight AI171 crashed on Thursday on the way to London Credit: AP 5 The flight is seen on CCTV exploding in a fireball Credit: ViralPress Udaipur-based doctor Komi Vyas had just quit her job to join her husband Prateek Joshi in London along with their three kids. The picture shows Joshi and Vyas with beaming smiles along with their children on board the ill-fated flight. Joshi had moved to London some time ago, and the rest of the family was on their way to join him, NDTV has reported. Follow The Sun's live blog for all the latest updates Advertisement read more in world news FARE-WELL! Shocking moment passenger hurls herself out of moving Uber to avoid £1.40 fare "Komi had quit her job recently to join her husband in London," a spokesperson for Pacific Hospital where she worked said. Neighbours have told NDTV that Joshi's father is a well respected radiologist in the city. Joshi's cousin Nayan said: "They left for Ahmedabad yesterday to take the flight to London. "Prateek had come here just two days ago to take his wife and children with him. Advertisement "Several other members of both families went to see them off." Vyas' brother told NDTV the couple had been married for 10 years. Plane crash survivor's relative reveals the dad was 'fine' after miraculously escaping doomed jet Air India Flight AI171 had been heading to London Gatwick when it crashed into a hostel used by doctors on Thursday. There were 242 people on board, including 53 Brits and 11 children. Advertisement More than 200 bodies have been recovered so far, while one Brit is understood to have survived. Haunting footage of the plane's final moments shows before it crashed into a fireball. 5 Smoke seen billowing after the crash Credit: AFP A formal investigation into the crash has now been opened by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau. Advertisement Captain Saurabh Bhatnagar, a former senior pilot, told NDTV: "The take-off was perfect and just, I believe, short of taking the gear up, the aircraft started descending, which can happen only in case the engine loses power or the aircraft stops developing lift. "Obviously, the investigation will reveal the exact reason." Brit Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, is so far understood to be the only surviving passenger. Incredible footage shows him walking away from the plane's wreckage almost unscathed. Advertisement Speaking in Hindi, he says: "I just got out of the plane, it exploded." Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on X: "The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us. It is heartbreaking beyond words. "In this sad hour, my thoughts are with everyone affected by it. "Have been in touch with ministers and authorities who are working to assist those affected." Advertisement Air India has confirmed that 241 of the 242 people aboard flight AI171 have died following the crash. The airline adding it "offers its deepest condolences to the families of the deceased".
Scottish Sun
4 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Air India pilot sent desperate mayday call moments before deadly plane crash that killed nearly everyone onboard
THE pilot of Air India's doomed flight out of Ahmedabad issued a desperate mayday call moments before smashing into a doctors' hostel. Captain Sumeet Sabharwal warned the plane was "losing power" - but could do nothing to avert the catastrophe. 6 Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, who had 8,200 hours of flying experience 6 First Officer Clive Kunder, from Mumbai, was also on the doomed plane 6 The plane was seen wedged in a building Credit: Reuters The captain called out down his radio: "Mayday [...] no thrust, losing power, unable to lift". Sabharwal had years of experience, and had racked up 8,200 in the air. The plane had just a few hundred feet of altitude when the power apparently cut out. The two pilots wrestled for 17 seconds with the controls before the jet careened into the buildings below. read more on the crash MIRACLE SEAT Brit who was seen walking away from Air India crash is tragedy's SOLE survivor Air India, the airline, confirmed on Thursday evening that just one person survived out of the 242 people on board. He is reported to be a 40-year-old British dad, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh. The plane was headed to London Gatwick with 232 passengers and 10 crew members when it crashed just seconds after take-off. Police have said that over 290 people were killed in the disaster, after locals on the ground were also crushed by the huge plane. Along with dozens of Brits, 169 Indian nationals, a Canadian and seven Portuguese travellers were also on board. The Dreamliner lost contact just seconds after take-off, according to flight tracking website Flightradar. A final alert was last logged less than a minute after it started the journey from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, only ever reaching an altitude of 625ft. Second-by-second breakdown of Air India jet disaster from mayday call to horror crash – all within a minute of takeoff A terrifying video showed the moment the doomed Air India plane took off before crashing in a fireball while carrying 242 people. Full harrowing CCTV footage was released capturing the Boeing 787 taking off before it beginning to sink. The Brits onboard who died include a family-of-three, a mum-of-three with her grandson, a pair of sisters and a wellness business couple. Names were emerging in a tragic drip-feed of information on Thursday evening. A British family from Gloucester: recruitment consultant Akeel Nanabawa, 36, his wife Hannaa, 30, and their four-year-old daughter Sara, were killed. A Facebook post from the Gloucester Muslim Community said: "We are profoundly heartbroken by the devastating loss of life. During this moment of overwhelming sorrow, our hearts go out to all those left behind." Mum-of-three Raxa Modha, 55, of Wellingborough, Northants., and her two-year-old grandson, Rudra, also died on the flight. Wellingborough mayor Raj Mishra said: "May their memories be a blessing, and may we come together to support one another in this time of grief." More to follow... For the latest news on this story keep checking back at The Sun Online is your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video. Like us on Facebook at and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSun. 6 Civilians look on as Indian firefighters douse the smouldering wreck Credit: AP 6 A family member of one of the crew members mourns Credit: AFP
