A Delta Airlines crash survivor vividly recalls the crucial detail he noticed just moments before the plane flipped upside-down during the landing.
A Delta Airlines flight crashed and flipped upside-down while landing at Toronto Pearson International Airport on February 17.
The aircraft carried 76 passengers and four crew members. While 18 people sustained injuries, everyone survived the terrifying ordeal.
Passenger describes unusual conditions before the crash
John Nelson, a passenger on the flight from Minneapolis, recalled the moments leading up to the crash. Speaking to CNN, he described the weather conditions.
“It was a typical flight from Minneapolis to Toronto,” he said. “But I noticed the winds were super gusty.”
John also observed unusual conditions on the runway. “The snow had kinda blown over the runways,” he explained. “It was noticeable that the runways were in a weird condition.”
Impact and chaos inside the aircraft
John described the crash as violent and sudden. “When we hit, it was super hard,” he said.
“The plane went sideways. I believe we skidded on our side and flipped over on our back.”
As the aircraft came to a stop, he noticed something alarming. “There was a big fireball on the left side of the plane,” he recalled.
Passengers were left suspended upside-down in their seats. “We kind of let ourselves go and fell to hit the ceiling,” John said.
“It was a surreal feeling. Then everyone just started yelling, ‘Get out! Get out! Get out!'”
Additionally, John recalled the overwhelming smell of jet fuel filling the cabin. “Even now, I smell like jet fuel,” he said.
Firefighters arrived immediately and helped evacuate passengers. Everyone escaped before the fire spread.
Survivors call the crash a miracle
Many have called it a miracle that the plane did not explode.
“The fact this plane didn’t burst into flames is nothing short of a miracle,” one person commented online.
Another wrote, “This was a miracle. I hope the survivors recover from physical and psychological injuries.”
Many praised the quick response of emergency crews. One person said: God is good, all the time, guess there are lots of prayer warriors people inside that plane with a kind & generous heart.
A second wrote: Incredible there were no fatalities.
While a third commened: Give those first responders a raise. They saved lives.
Someone else said: It sounds like something went wrong with the landing gear