Passenger documents moment they escaped Delta plane after it flipped upside-down
A passenger who survived a recent Delta Air Lines crash documented the moment he was safely evacuated from the aircraft.
Yesterday (February 17), a Delta plane carrying 80 people crashed and flipped upside-down on the runway at Toronto Pearson International Airport, Canada.
The flight had departed from Minneapolis, Minnesota, earlier that day, with the crash taking place around 2:15pm local time.
Flights at the airport, which handles more passengers than any other Canadian airport, were grounded for around two-and-a-half hours.
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While some operations have resumed since, two runways will reportedly remain closed during the investigation into what happened.
Fortunately nobody died in the ordeal, and all 76 passengers and four crew members were safely evacuated from the aircraft.
It's thought that around 18 passengers were injured in the ordeal, however.
“We are very grateful there was no loss of life and relatively minor injuries,” Deborah Flint, chief executive of Greater Toronto Airports Authority, said of the incident.
Passengers have since been sharing harrowing footage of the aftermath of the crash, with one videoing the moment they were evacuated from the aircraft.
Pete Koukov, one of the 76 passengers, shared the video to Instagram in the hours that followed the crash.
See it here:
As he's exiting the plane, a Delta cabin crew member tells him and others evacuating to 'drop everything' as people on the outside of the plane were stood waiting to help them out.
Walking away from the plane having safely jumped out, Pete turns to show the flipped aircraft as repeatedly says 'holy f**k'.
"Yo, I was just on this f**king plane," he goes on to say, seemingly shocked to still be alive.
He captioned the now-viral Instagram video: "Being alive feels pretty cool today."
The video has been liked over 3.7 million times, with many taking to the comments section to express the shock about the whole situation.
"This is the craziest thing I’ve ever seen," one person penned.
Another said: "I would have already passed away from a panic attack."
Others praised the flight attendants for helping everyone safely off the plane.
"This is when we all realize what flight attendants actually do," someone commented. "Bless them for their service and prayers for the injured."
"Shout out to the flight attendant still working," wrote a second person.
Others expressed their relief that Pete, the video poster, was safe and well.
In a statement, Delta CEO Ed Bastian said: "The hearts of the entire global Delta family are with those affected by today’s incident at Toronto-Pearson International Airport.
"I want to express my thanks to the many Delta and Endeavor team members and the first responders on site. We are working to confirm the details and will share the most current information as soon as it becomes available. In the meantime, please take care and stay safe."
An investigation into the incident is being led by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.
Niamh Shackleton