First responders work at the Delta Air Lines plane crash site at Toronto Pearson International Airport in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada February 17, 2025.
Arlyn Mcadorey | Reuters
At least 15 people were injured after a Delta Air Lines regional jet crashed upon landing at Toronto Pearson International Airport Monday afternoon, officials said.
All 80 people on board — 76 passengers and four crew members — were evacuated from the plane, a CRJ-900 regional jet, after the accident, which occurred at about 2:45 p.m. ET, the Federal Aviation Administration said. Two people were airlifted in critical condition, according to Peel Regional Paramedic Services.
Emergency crews responded at the scene. Flights to the airport were temporarily halted but resumed as of 5 p.m. ET.
Delta said in a statement it was cancelling the remainder of its flights to and from Toronto Monday and issuing travel waivers to affected passengers.
“The hearts of the entire global Delta family are with those affected by today’s incident at Toronto-Pearson International Airport,” Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in the statement. “I want to express my thanks to the many Delta and Endeavor team members and the first responders on site.”
Delta Flight 4819, operated by the carrier’s regional subsidiary Endeavor, originated in Delta’s hub of Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport.
The Toronto airport said it had been expecting a busy day and a storm that dumped more than 8 inches of snow on the region, with an expected 130,000 travelers on board around 1,000 flights.
Weather reports showed wind of between 20 mph and 30 mph Monday, with gusts of up to 40 mph.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada will lead the crash investigation, the FAA said. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a post on social media X that FAA investigators were en route to Toronto and that he is working with his Canadian counterparts to assist in the investigation.
The accident comes weeks after a fatal midair collision in January at Washington D.C.’s Reagan International Airport, which killed all 64 people on an American Airlines regional jet and another three people on board an Army Black Hawk helicopter.
Separately, the FAA was recently hit by layoffs spearheaded by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, with several hundred air traffic controllers receiving firing notices over the weekend.
A U.S. Department of Transportation spokesperson told NBC News the FAA “continues to hire and onboard” air traffic controllers and that the agency has “retained employees” who perform critical safety functions.
