Air traffic control audio has captured the moment when a Delta Air Line carrying 80 people crash-landed at Toronto Pearson Airport and flipped upside down.
The three-minute audio, obtained by CBS, shows the controllers in conversation with a medical helicopter and indicates the first response as the incident unfolds.
The helicopter, which was in the proximity of the crash at the time the plane went down, offered to help, according to the audio.
“This airplane just crashed,” an air traffic controller can be heard saying. Seconds later, audio from the control tower confirmed that the plane was belly-up, according to CBS: “The aircraft there’s upside-down and burning.”
The controllers then confirm people are walking outside of the plane after the crash.
According to a statement from Delta, 18 passengers on board Flight 4819 were injured and transported to area hospitals. There were a total of 76 passengers and four crew aboard the flight.
“Our primary focus is taking care of those impacted,” the statement read. It also included a message from the CEO Ed Bastian.
“The hearts of the entire global Delta family are with those affected by today’s incident at Toronto-Pearson International Airport,” Bastian said. “I want to express my thanks to the many Delta and Endeavor team members and the first responders on site.”
A team of U.S. investigators will join forces with the Transportation Safety Board of Canada—which will lead the investigation—to investigate the accident, the National Transportation Safety Board confirmed.
It was the latest in a list of serious aircraft accidents in 2025, including the Jan. 29 collision between an American Airlines passenger jet and a U.S. Army helicopter over the Potomac River near Reagan Washington National Airport. Although not every incident has ended in a crash, according to the National Transportation Safety Board, there have been 87 aviation accidents this year.
