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”.
Vladimir Putin told Donald Trump he “will not back down” from Russia’s goals in Ukraine during a phone call today, the Kremlin has said.
The Russian president spoke to his US counterpart for almost an hour, and Mr Trump “again raised the issue of an early end to military action” in Ukraine, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters.
In response, Mr Putin said “Russia will not back down” from its aims there, which include “the elimination of the well-known root causes that led to the current state of affairs,” Mr Ushakov said.
The phrase “root causes” is shorthand for Moscow’s argument that it was compelled to invade Ukraine in order to prevent the country from joining NATO.
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Ukraine and its European allies say this is a pretext to justify what they call an imperial-style war, but Mr Trump has previously shown sympathy with Russia.
At the same time, Mr Putin told the US president that Russia is ready to continue negotiating, the aide said.
The Russian president said any prospective peace deal must see Ukraine give up its NATO bid and recognise his country’s territorial gains.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, seen with Mr Trump in June, is pushing for Ukraine to join NATO. Pic: Reuters
He also briefed Mr Trump on agreements made last month, which saw Russia and Ukraine exchange prisoners of war and dead soldiers.
Specific dates for the third round of peace talks in Istanbul were not discussed – nor was the US decision to halt some shipments of critical weapons to Ukraine.
Mr Putin and Mr Trump’s call came after the Pentagon confirmed some weapons due to be sent to Ukraine have been held as it reviews military stockpiles.
The paused shipments include air defence missiles and precision-guided artillery, two people familiar with the situation have said.
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The decision led to Ukraine calling in the acting US envoy to Kyiv on Wednesday to underline the importance of military aid from Washington.
Kyiv also cautioned that the move would weaken Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against intensifying Russian airstrikes and battlefield advances.
Mr Putin and Mr Trump’s phone call was the sixth they have publicly disclosed since the US president returned to the White House in January.
Donald Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’ has been passed by the US congress, sending it to the president to sign into law.
The controversial tax breaks and spending cuts package cleared its final hurdle as the Republican-controlled House of Representatives narrowly approved the bill with a 218-214 vote.
The bill delivers tax breaks Mr Trump promised in his 2024 election campaign, cuts health and food safety programmes, and zeroes out dozens of green energy incentives.
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), it will lower tax revenues by $4.5trn over 10 years and add $3.4trn to the US’s $36.2trn debt.
But despite concerns over the 869-page bill’s price tag – and its hit to healthcare programmes – Republicans largely lined up in support, with just two rebelling on the vote.
House Speaker Mike Johnson is congratulated following the vote. Pic: Reuters
Every Democrat in Congress voted against the bill, blasting it as a giveaway to the wealthy that will leave millions of Americans uninsured.
House Speaker Mike Johnson made the Republicans’ closing argument for the bill, telling Congress: “For everyday Americans, this means real, positive change that they can feel.”
Earlier, the House’s Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries gave a record-breaking eight-hour and 44-minute speech against it.
“The focus of this bill, the justification for all of the cuts that will hurt everyday Americans, is to provide massive tax breaks for billionaires,” he said.
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The bill’s spending cuts largely target Medicaid, the health programme that covers 71 million Americans on low incomes.
It will tighten enrolment standards, institute a work requirement and clamp down on a funding mechanism used by states to boost federal payments.
The changes could leave nearly 12 million people without health insurance, according to the CBO.
On the other side of the ledger, it will stave off tax increases that were due to hit most Americans at the end of the year, when tax cuts from President Trump’s first term were due to expire.
It also sets up new tax breaks for overtime pay, seniors and tipped income.
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The bill narrowly passed the US Senate on Tuesday after vice president JD Vance cast the deciding vote to break a 50-50 tie.
Mr Trump will sign it into law on Friday at 5pm local time (10pm in the UK), the White House said.
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