Updated February 18, 2025 at 19:23 PM ET
Canadian aviation safety investigators have removed the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder from the Delta Air Lines flight that flipped upside down and caught fire at Toronto Pearson International Airport.
But investigators have yet to determine a reason for Monday's crash.
"At this point it's far too early to say what the cause of this accident might be," Ken Webster of Canada's Transportation Safety Board said in a video released Tuesday evening.
Webster said the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder had been sent to a TSB lab "for further analysis."
No passengers were killed. But earlier on Tuesday, Delta said two remained hospitalized after 21 passengers were taken to hospitals.
Cory Tkatch of Peel Regional Paramedic Services said first responders encountered a "multitude" of injuries, including back sprains, head injuries, as well as anxiety and nausea and vomiting from fuel exposure. No injuries are life-threatening, officials said on Tuesday. Fire officials said most of the passengers self-evacuated from the plane.
Video of the landing on social media showed the regional jet touching down on the runway before leaning on its right, then flipping over and emitting flames and a giant cloud of black smoke. Photos showed the fuselage laying upside-down on the runway, missing its right wing.
Airport and emergency officials would not comment on any potential cause of the crash at an early afternoon press conference.
"This would not be a time for us to have theory or to speculate on what caused the crash," said Deborah Flint, CEO of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority. She said investigative agencies are doing a "complete investigation to determine all the causal factors and we are looking forward to getting those results."
Flint said the airport received 20 inches of snow between Thursday and Sunday — amounting to more than all of last winter — but would not say whether the weather played a role in the crash.
TSB investigators are on the scene and representatives from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration are also participating in the investigation, she said.
The wrecked plane will likely remain on the runway for the next 48 hours as investigators continue their work, Flint said. Two of Toronto Pearson's runways remain closed as a result, leading to hundreds of canceled flights. Nearly 400 have been canceled in the last 24 hours as of Tuesday evening, according to flight tracker FlightAware.
The Bombardier CRJ-900 was operated by regional airline Endeavor Air and was finishing its route from Minneapolis to Toronto on Monday. Four crew members and 76 passengers were aboard.
Flint commended first responders and flight crew for quickly evacuating those aboard and preventing any loss of life. "I cannot commend enough the crew, the flight attendants, pilots and our emergency responders for their quick and effective response," she told reporters.
Copyright 2025 NPR
