Why did the plane crash in Toronto – and how did everyone escape?
Investigators are trying to establish exactly what happened when eighty people miraculously escaped after a Delta Air Lines jet dramatically flipped upside down as it landed in Toronto.
It’s not clear what went so disastrously wrong as the plane – which was carrying 76 passengers and four crew – touched down on Monday.
Eighteen people were injured, but the fact nobody was killed has been hailed as remarkable.
Where was the flight coming from?
The twin-engine Mitsubishi CRJ-900LR jet was coming to the end of a flight from Minneapolis in the US (around 700 miles away) when the landing at Toronto’s Pearson Airport went catastrophically wrong.
Weather conditions in the Canadian city, which has been blanketed by snow recently, saw winds gusting to 40mph when the flight attempted to land at around 2.15pm local time (7.15pm UK time) on Monday.
Communications between the tower and pilot were normal on approach.
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‘Dry runway and no crosswind’
What happened when it tried to land?
For reasons that have yet to be established, the 118ft jet flipped over onto its back after touching down on the tarmac – leaving passengers hanging upside down in the cabin.
Peter Carlson, a passenger travelling to Toronto for a paramedics’ conference, said the landing was “very forceful”.
“All the sudden everything just kind of went sideways and then next thing I know it’s kind of a blink and I’m upside down still strapped in,” he told CBC News.
Emergency responders reached the plane within a few minutes, Toronto Pearson Fire Chief Todd Aitken said, and the operation “went as planned”.
Pictures and videos from the scene show the plane’s fuselage seemingly intact as firefighters doused what was left of the fire, with what appear to be scorch marks visible near the tail section.
Passengers were able to climb out and walk across the tarmac.
The response from firefighters was praised. Pic: AP
Was anyone injured in the crash?
All 80 people on board the aircraft survived and Mr Aitken said 18 passengers were taken to the hospital.
Earlier in the day, Ornge air ambulance said it was transporting one paediatric patient to Toronto’s SickKids hospital and two injured adults to other hospitals in the city.
A spokesperson for the Peel Region paramedic service told Sky News the injuries ranged from minor to serious – but none were life-threatening.
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‘Crew did a remarkable job’
Former air traffic controller Todd Yeary said it was “remarkable” nobody was killed in the crash.
Asked about the weather, he told Sky News: “There’s some question about whether or not there were extreme wind gusts at about the time the flight was touching down, and whether or not that had any impact on the ability to control the landing.”
He said ice on the runway could have been a factor as well.
“What we do know is the crew did a remarkable job to make sure that everybody got off that airplane safely,” he added.
Mr Aitken, the fire chief, has said “the runway was dry and there was no cross-wind conditions”.
Dozens of supporters were outside court as the man accused of fatally shooting the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare made his first appearance.
Luigi Mangione has pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of murder following the 4 December killing of Brian Thompson, 50, outside a midtown Manhattan hotel.
The 26-year-old is accused of ambushing and shooting the executive as he walked to an investor conference.
Luigi Mangione supporters stand outside the Supreme Court. Pic: AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah
Dozens of people who showed up in court to support the suspect including former army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning who was jailed for stealing classified diplomatic cables.
Dozens more queued in the hallway.
Mangione is also facing federal charges that could carry the possibility of the death penalty.
The judge set a deadline of 9 April to submit pre-trial motions.
Luigi Mangione is accused of fatally shooting Brian Thompson. Pic: Steven Hirsch/New York Post via AP
In addition to the New York cases, Mr Mangione also faces charges of forgery, carrying firearms without a licence, and other counts in Pennsylvania, where authorities arrested him at a McDonald’s.
Police say he was in possession of a gun, bullets, multiple fake IDs and a handwritten document that expressed “ill will” towards corporate America.
He is being held in a Brooklyn jail alongside several other high-profile defendants, including music mogul and rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs, and disgraced crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried.
The killing prompted some to voice their resentment at US health insurers, with Mangione attracting a cult following.
A poll taken in the wake of the shooting showed most Americans believe health insurance profits and coverage denials were partly to blame for the incident.
Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron have not “done anything” to end the Ukraine war, US President Donald Trump has said.
He called the French president a “friend of mine” and the UK leader a “nice guy” but said Russia had only agreed to negotiate “because of me”.
Mr Trump made the comments days before both leaders visit the White House for a meeting in which they must try to press Ukraine‘s case while keeping the US leader onside.
Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron in Paris: Pic: Number 10/Flickr
The president also continued his criticism of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying he had “no cards” to play.
“I’ve been watching for years, and I’ve been watching him negotiate with no cards. He has no cards. And you get sick of it. You just get sick of it. And I’ve had it,” he told a Fox radio show.
The comments come after he recently called the Ukrainian leader a “dictator without elections” – apparently in response to Mr Zelenskyy saying his US counterpart was living in a “disinformation space” after Mr Trump claimed Ukraine had started the war.
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Ukraine was also excluded from talks between the top US and Russian diplomats in Riyadh earlier this week.
They were intended to set the stage for future negotiations on ending the war, which started when Russia launched a full-scale invasion three years ago.
Speaking on Friday evening, Mr Trump denied speculation he could visit Moscow for talks on 9 May – the day Russia celebrates its victory over the Nazis.
President Trump speaks in the Oval Office on Friday. Pic: Reuters
Mr Trump also told reporters the Russian and Ukrainian leaders needed to “work together” to end the war.
However, the US has already dealt a huge blow to Kyiv’s position in any future talks.
US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said last week that a return to pre-war borders was “unrealistic” and ruled out NATO membership as way to guarantee Kyiv’s security.
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President Zelenskyy has insisted he will not accept any deal that his country is not involved in.
Ukraine’s leader held talks with US envoy Keith Kellogg in Kyiv on Thursday, describing it later as a “good discussion”.
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Mr Kellogg struck a markedly different tone to President Trump when he called Mr Zelenskyy the “courageous leader of a nation at war”.
However, there are concerns over how much influence Mr Kellogg has, with a Ukrainian source saying there was a sense he had been sidelined.
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