Delta Airlines plane crash: Passenger recounts seeing a ‘big fireball’ after the flip

Delta Airlines Flight 4819 crashed at Toronto Pearson International Airport with no crosswinds and a dry runway.

There were “no crosswinds”, and the runway was “dry” when the Delta Airlines Flight 4819 plane crashed and flipped at Toronto Pearson International Airport, per initial report.

A Delta Airlines plane lies overturned after crashing earlier in the day at Toronto Pearson International Airport on February 17, 2025 in Toronto, (Photo by Katherine KY Cheng / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)(Getty Images via AFP)

However, John Nelson, a passenger on the flight, told CNN, “When we hit, it was super hard. The plane went sideways and I believe we skidded on our side and flipped over on our back,” he said.

Nelson also recounted seeing a “big fireball” on the left side of the plane after it overturned. “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,” he said.

“Thankfully, everybody was okay. We tried to get off as quickly as possible. There was another explosion, but luckily, the firefighters got out of there.”

Fire Chief confirms ‘dry’ runway in Delta Jet crash-landing

The Delta-operated Bombardier CRJ900 carrying 80 people had flown from Minneapolis to Toronto and flipped upon landing shortly before 3 p.m. on Monday. Endeavor Air, a regional airline, was operating the flight.

Toronto Pearson International Airport has stated that “all passengers and crew are accounted for” following the crash landing. Video showed passengers evacuating the overturned jet onto the icy tarmac, guided by a composed flight attendant who maintained order amid the chaos.

“Emergency teams are responding,” Toronto Pearson said and added, “A number of passengers were taken to local hospitals. GTAA staff are supporting families of passengers at arrivals.”

Fire Chief Todd Aitken urged the public not to speculate unnecessarily and confirmed the runway was “dry” during the crash landing.

“This is an active investigation. It's very early on. It's important that we do not speculate. What we can say, is the runway was dry and there was no crosswind conditions,” he said.