Landing gear which suddenly collapsed when a Delta plane crash landed in Toronto and flipped upside down is at the center of a new investigation.
Authorities have been tasked with working out what exactly went wrong on February 17 when the passenger plane from Minnesota slid across the tarmac belly up.
In all, 21 of the 76 passengers were taken to hospital but have all been released – a miraculous outcome for a crash which could have killed everyone on board.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada released a preliminary report detailing the current ‘focus areas’ of the investigation and the information that has been garnered so far.
Landing techniques offered in pilot training, as well as training for flight attendants are being probed, along with the landing gear and wing structure.
Authorities are also examining cabin obstructions and impediments once inverted, as well as ‘coordination in emergencies’ and ‘organizational and management factors.’
The report determined that the plane suffered a right-side landing gear collapse as it made contact with the runway as challenging wind gusts hampered efforts to land.
Nine Canadian passengers, including one minor, filed six separate lawsuits in Minnesota last week blaming the airline for a ‘woeful violation’ of aviation standards.
The pilots in charge of the Delta plane which crash landed in Toronto and flipped upside down are at the center of a new investigation
Authorities have been tasked with working out what exactly went wrong on February 17 when the passenger plane from Minnesota slid across the tarmac belly up
The passengers claim they suffered ‘extreme bodily and mental injuries and economic losses’ as a result of the crash.
They also allege the crew were ‘inadequately trained and supervised’ during the crisis, failing to follow procedures or monitor flight conditions.
The captain of the plane had worked for Endeavor Air, a subsidiary of Delta, for 18 years. He has flown a total of 3,570 hours across his career and is also a training instructor.
On the day of the crash, he was coming onto his first shift of the week. It was also the first flight of the day.
His co-pilot had worked with Endeavor for just over a year and had flown an estimated 1,422 hours across the span of her career.
She was on her final shift of the week. Both the captain and first officer are ‘qualified and FAA certified for their positions.’
The passengers are seeking a trial to determine damages.
Lead investigator Ken Webster revealed the aircraft was flying within its allowable weight and balance limitations, raising the question about what went so wrong.
During the crash, the right wing of the plane detached and released ‘a cloud of jet fuel’ that caught fire.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian last month maintained that the Endeavor crew working the flight ‘performed heroically, but also as expected’
Landing techniques offered in pilot training, as well as training for flight attendants are at the center of the investigation
The interim report states: ‘At touchdown, the following occurred: the side-stay that is attached to the right MLG fractured, the landing gear folded into the retracted position, the wing root fractured between the fuselage and the landing gear, and the wing detached from the fuselage.
‘The aircraft then began to slide along the runway. The fuselage slid down Runway 23, rolling to the right until it became inverted. A large portion of the tail, including most of the vertical stabilizer and the entire horizontal stabilizer, became detached during the roll.’
Delta CEO Ed Bastian last month maintained that the Endeavor crew working the flight ‘performed heroically, but also as expected.’
‘We’re a very competitive industry across the U.S. airlines, but there’s one thing we do not compete on, and that’s safety. We all work together and we all learn from each other.’
Aviation expert Phyl Durdey told CTV News that based on the investigator’s logs, problems only emerged when the plane was about 150 feet away from the tarmac.
‘They were really approaching the ground at a very rapid rate,’ he said.
‘When they impacted the ground, it was way beyond the structural limits of the aircraft.
‘The descent rate actually increased, so it begs to wonder what was going on in the cockpit.’
The flight data and cockpit voice recorders have been submitted for analysis. The TSB said it had captured audio during both the descent and landing.
Delta earlier offered to pay $30,000 to each passenger on board as a gesture of goodwill.
Passengers made a beeline towards the emergency exits as flight attendants, urging travelers to leave their belongings behind, helped people crawl out of the overturned aircraft while fire crews sprayed it with foam
Delta spokesperson Morgan Durrant has assured passengers the $30,000 payment comes with ‘no strings attached and does not impact rights.’
If all 76 passengers agree to the cash, Delta will be forking out $2.3million.
Aviation is under incredible scrutiny after several major crashes in the first few weeks of 2025 alone.
Some 67 people died in a collision between a US Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines passenger jet.
The causes are still under investigation, but early reports revealed staffing levels were ‘not normal,’ and that a single controller was handling helicopter traffic as well as airline traffic at the airport.
Days later a medical jet crashed in Philadelphia killing all six people on board.
Then, a small plane carrying 10 crashed over Alaska, again killing everybody on board.
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