Delta Airlines passengers remember ‘hanging upside down like bats’ after crash
A Delta Airlines plane flipped over while landing at Toronto Pearson International Airport, injuring 18 passengers, including a child.
A frightening plane crash saw a Delta Airlines plane turn upside down while landing at Canada’s Toronto Pearson International Airport on Monday. Around 18 people got injured during the crash, including a child, according to officials. However, everyone fortunately made it alive out of the flight.
Also read: Delta Airline crash: How did passengers survive despite plane landing upside down?
The flight had 76 people and 4 crew members on board, most of whom are safe except those injured. The flight had originated from the United States’ Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
Passengers recount horror
The passengers recounted their harrowing experiences of the flight overturning while landing. Talking to CNN, a passenger recalled hanging upside down from their seats “like a bat” during the crash.
As the aircraft flipped, the passengers were left aloft in their seats, said passengers John Nelson and Peter Koukov. “When we got finished, I was upside down, everybody else was there as well,” said Nelson as he recounted the plane hitting the ground and turning sideways. “We tried to get out of there as quickly as possible,” he added.
A fire had also reportedly erupted as the plane crashed into the runway, Nelson said. However, the ground staff got into action immediately and sprayed fire retardant onto the crashed plane with its belly up.
“I did notice the winds were super gusty. The snow had kinda blown over the runways. So coming it was routine but it was noticeable that the runways were in kind of a weird condition,” Nelson added.
“We were upside down hanging like bats” when the aircraft came to a standstill, Koukov recalled. Nelson and Koukov then unbuckled themselves and fell onto the ceiling of the plane before they further proceeded to assist those who needed help unbuckling themselves.
Nelson described the scene as chaotic and people, afraid, scrambled to get out of the plane.
The passengers were then helped by the flight attendants to crawl out of the aircraft through the exit door and jump onto the runway. They were asked to leave their personal belongings behind; however, some passengers still exited with their luggage. They jumped onto the snow-covered ground amid chilly winds and held onto their clothes tightly to protect themselves from the weather.
The cause of the crash is still unknown. “There is a plane crash. However, we don't know the circumstances surrounding it at this point,” Constable Sarah Patten of the Peel Regional Police in Ontario told Reuters. A probe is on to determine what went wrong during the landing.
The crash is the latest amid a string of aviation accidents in North America. In January, an American Airlines regional jet collided midair with a US military black hawk helicopter while landing at the Reagan Washington National Airport, killing all 67 onboard.
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