Brenna Cooper
Aviation experts have weighed in on why they believe Delta Air Lines flight 4819 flipped upside down after crash landing in Toronto.
Chilling images of the Bombardier CRJ-900 lying upside down on the snow covered runway and missing one of its wings have flooded the internet in the aftermath of yesterday's (17 February) crash, which occurred at Toronto Pearson International Airport after leaving Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in the US.
All 76 passengers and four crew members miraculously survived the crash, with just 18 needing to be hospitalised for their injuries. However, Delta has since confirmed that all hospitalised patients have since been discharged.
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"The hearts of the entire global Delta family are with those affected by today’s incident at Toronto-Pearson International Airport," said Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in a statement.
"I want to express my thanks to the many Delta and Endeavor team members and the first responders on site. We are working to confirm the details and will share the most current information as soon as it becomes available. In the meantime, please take care and stay safe."
Following confirmation that all passengers and crew had survived the crash people began to question how the plane had ended up upside down in the first place — with a series of aviation experts now weighing in on possible theories for the crash.
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The dominant theory doing the rounds is that extreme weather is the cause of the crash, with CNN aviation analyst Peter Goelz stating that a 'strong gust of wind' upon touching down had caused the plane to flip.
This theory was echoed by aviation expert Scott Hamilton, who told Newsweek that strong winds and snow are likely factors in flight 4819 flipping.
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Despite the prospect of a plane flipping onto its back looking absolutely terrifying, experts are quick to reassure nervous flyers that not only is it a rare occurrence, but aircraft is also built to withstand such incident.
"We’ve seen a couple of cases of takeoffs where aeroplane have ended up inverted, but it’s pretty rare," John Cox, CEO of aviation safety consulting firm Safety Operating Systems told Associated Press (via Al Jazeera).
Mike McCormick, associate professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, added to USA Today that planes are 'structurally' designed so the 'wings and the tail will break off and away' while passenger seats are designed to withstand '16 times the force of gravity'.
Just make sure you're always wearing your seatbelt during landing.