The Delta Airlines plane flipped over

Death of 80 persons was averted Monday afternoon in Canada’s Toronto Pearson Airport when as a slim aircraft, cleared by air traffic controllers to land, crashlanded and flipped over leaving occupants “hanging like bats.”

Experts said strong crosswinds hit at the aircraft at landing causing it to crash into the runway, sending fire crews scrambling to extinguish the rising flames around the overturned jet.

All on board the Delta flight from Minneapolis survived the crash, but it is still unclear how the aircraft was upended, leaving it belly-up, streaked with black residue and much of a wing gone. Inside, seat-belted passengers were suspended from their seats.

Initial reports indicate that there are no fatalities. Both the airline and Toronto Airport Fire Chief Todd Aitken noted 18 people were injured in the crash and have been transported to area hospitals.

A child was among the injured but is in good condition, the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto said.

Peel Regional Paramedic Services, which operates where the airport is located, provided a lower figure of 15 passengers hurt.

“We are very grateful there was no loss of life and relatively minor injuries,” Deborah Flint, CEO of the Greater Toronto Airport Authority, told reporters.

The harrowing incident briefly halted traffic at Canada’s busiest airport and is certain to raise questions amid heightened flight safety concerns in the US. The crash is the fourth major aviation accident in North America in the past month and comes three weeks after an American Airlines plane collided midair with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter in Washington, DC, killing all 67 people aboard.

– CNN