Canada’s Transportation Safety Board Publishes Preliminary Report

A preliminary report from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada pointed to excessive descent speed as the potential cause of a recent Delta incident. The aircraft rolled over and came to a stop upside down with 80 people on board.

On February 17, 2025, Delta Connection Flight 4819 overturned upon landing at Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ).  The flight, a Bombardier CRJ900 operated by Delta subsidiary Endeavor Air, reportedly encountered 38-knot wind gusts before a hard touchdown. All 76 passengers and 4 crew members survived, though at least 21 were injured.

Lawyers have already begun to swing at Delta for the incident, with Motley Rice filing a federal lawsuit on behalf of injured passenger Hannah Krebs. It cites the carrier’s alleged failure to adhere to standard landing procedures and insufficient training as contributing factors. Toronto-based lawyer Vincent Genova has reportedly taken on 12 Canadian passengers.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada took over the crash investigation and, in its preliminary report, noted that the aircraft’s descent rate was far over standards. It was descending at 1,100 feet per minute just before touchdown -- almost double the 600 feet per minute rate that typically classifies a slammed landing.

Canadian authorities shared that a component of the main landing gear on the right side broke when the CRJ900 initially touched down. This led to it rolling to the right and its wing snapping off, causing it to skid to a stop belly-up. The wreckage then caught fire.

An unusually fast descent rate was likely just a part of the story, with accidents like this typically stemming from several factors. The report stated that the plane encountered wind gusts less than 15 seconds before touchdown. The pilot reacted by taking out power and the aircraft came in at a one-degree-up angle of attack, which is a relatively shallow flare.

The report checked the flight crew’s experience, explaining that the captain had logged 764 hours on a CRJ900. The first officer, who was flying at the time, had 420 hours on it and had been with the airline since early 2024. These are both typical numbers for a regional carrier like Endeavor.

FMI: www.tsb.gc.ca