A preliminary study of the Delta Air Lines aircraft that turned upside down during a crash landing at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport last month reveals that the jet was descending quickly.
The bungled landing on February 17 wounded 21 persons.
Endeavor Air operated the aircraft, which arrived from Minneapolis and carried 80 persons – 76 passengers and four crew members.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada’s study, issued Thursday, did not identify the cause of the collision.
“The aircraft impacted the runway, the right wing detached, and a fire ensued,” according to the report. The plane then flipped, leaving passengers hanging upside down in their seats as it went down the runway inverted until it came to a halt.
According to the report, two of the twenty-one wounded had significant injuries.
The report described the events leading up to the landing in detail, second by second.
At 2:12:40, or 3.6 seconds before impact, the rate of fall accelerated. One second later, the flight’s increased ground proximity warning system “sink rate” alarm sounded, signaling a rapid descent.
Then, 1.6 seconds before touchdown, the aircraft “was slightly below the glide slope” – a device that leads an aircraft down to the runway for a safe descent.
The plane’s right main landing gear made touch with the runway at 2:12:43.
At touchdown, a portion of the right main landing gear fractured, the landing gear folded into a retracted position, the wing root fractured between the fuselage (the plane’s main body) and the landing gear, and the wing detached, “releasing a cloud of jet fuel, which caught fire,” according to the report.
The jet slid down the runway, and its body rolled to the right until it was upside down.
“A large portion of the tail, including most of the vertical stabilizer and the entire horizontal stabilizer, became detached during the roll,” according to the summary.
After coming to a halt, the passengers and personnel were evacuated. After the evacuation, airplane rescue firefighters entered the main body of the jet.
Shortly after, “an explosion occurred outside the aircraft in the area of the left wing root,” according to the investigation. The safety board said that the cause of the explosion is still under investigation.
“For everyone at Endeavor Air and Delta, nothing is more essential than the safety of our customers and employees. That is why we continue to be fully involved as partners in the Transportation Safety Board of Canada’s inquiry,” Delta said in a statement Thursday.
“Out of respect for the integrity of this process, which will continue until their final conclusion, Endeavor Air and Delta will abstain from comment.