A portion of the Delta Air Lines plane that flipped upside down while landing at Toronto Pearson International Airport ignited just after firefighters onboard jumped out of the wreckage, a dramatic new video of the aftermath shows.
Delta Flight 4819 from Minneapolis to Toronto landed belly-up on the runway of the Canadian airport Monday afternoon. All 80 passengers and crew aboard were safely evacuated and 17 were hospitalized following the crash landing, airline officials said.
Emergency crews quickly responded to the wreckage, which was partially on fire as it skidded on the ground, shaving off part of the wing and tail.
The flames were largely extinguished after being doused with water as teams swept through the plane wreck still lying belly-up on the runway.
But when two firefighters jumped out of the plane’s emergency exit and into the heaps of snow left over from a weekend storm in Toronto, part of the aircraft closest to them burst into a brief flurry of flames, the footage shows.
As one firefighter doubled back to help his colleague off the ground, the fire was out as quickly as it had started. More firefighters rushed to their aid as extra water was dumped on the plane for safe measure, according to the clip.
Fires can be reignited by strong winds even after they’ve largely been extinguished — a factor that was seen frequently throughout the worst of the Los Angeles wildfires in early January. Winds can also carry remnant embers further to spread fires.
Investigators are working to uncover how exactly the Delta plane ended upside down on the runway.
