The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has released its preliminary report on the crash that ended with a Delta plane on its roof.
The Endeavor Air flight from Minnesota crashed at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Feb. 17. No one was killed and only 21 of those on board had to be taken to area hospitals. There were 76 passengers and four crew members on the flight.
Crews combed the wreckage of the CRJ-900 to look for any clues to what happened. They also simulated the conditions to see if that caused the crash.
The TSB said the plane was within its allowable weight and balance, but “several things” happened when it hit the tarmac.
About 3.6 seconds before it hit, the rate of descent increased. At 2.6 seconds, the ground proximity warning system sink rate alert sounded. At 1.6 seconds the plane “was slightly below the glide slope” which helps a plane during a controlled descent.
When it touched down, the landing gear broke.
“The side-stay attached to the aircraft’s right main landing gear fractured, the landing gear retracted, and the wing root fractured between the landing gear and the fuselage, which is the central body portion of the aircraft,” lead investigator Ken Webster said.
When the wing came off, jet fuel spewed from the aircraft and caught fire as the plane slid on the runway.
The tail also came off when the plane flipped.
An explosion happened outside the plane, near the left wing but they do not know the cause.
The cockpit door was also jammed shut so the pilots had to leave through the plane’s emergency hatch.
There were no pre-existing malfunctions they said.