Investigators probe cause of Toronto Delta plane crash

Investigators are looking into what made a Delta plane crash land and flip over at Toronto’s Pearson Airport on Monday, an incident all 80 people on board survived.

Officials have yet to say what caused the crash although experts believe the wintry weather and strong winds may have played a part.

The Delta Air Lines flight from Minneapolis skidded along the runway with flames visible before it came to a halt upside down.

Eighteen people were injured but only a small number are thought to be seriously hurt, a fact described as miraculous by analysts.

Passengers on board said they were hanging upside down in their seats and had to release themselves, falling on to the ceiling before clambering out on to the snow-covered tarmac. Firefighters quickly came to the rescue.

“We were upside down hanging like bats,” passenger Peter Koukov told CNN.

A child was among the injured but was in good condition as of Tuesday morning, the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto told the BBC’s US partner CBS News.

There were 76 passengers and four crew on board the 16-year-old CRJ900 aircraft, made by Canada’s Bombardier company.

Experts told the BBC it was miraculous that everyone survived the crash, adding that the swift response of flight attendants and emergency crews helped save people, as well as plane safety improvements.

Airport authorities said the runway was dry at the time of the crash, despite the wintry conditions in the city. They said snow had stopped and “frigid temperatures and high winds [were] moving in”.

Analysts say it is possible the plane may have struck an item on the runway such as a light when it landed.

The crash is at least the fourth major aviation incident in North America in the past month, including an American Airlines plane in Washington, DC, that collided with a US Army helicopter, killing all 67 people on board.

Two runways at the airport remain closed as the investigation continues.