Investigators recover black boxes for further analysis into Toronto plane crash

Canadian investigators said on Tuesday they sent black boxes for lab analysis from a Delta Air Lines (DAL.N), opens new tab regional jet that flipped upside down upon landing in Toronto a day earlier, as they probe causes of the crash that injured 21 people.

Following initial impact on the runway at Toronto’s Pearson Airport, parts of the CRJ900 aircraft separated and a fire ensued, Transportation Safety Board of Canada Senior Investigator Ken Webster said in a video.

The team of over 20 Canadian investigators are leading the probe into the jet operated by Delta’s Endeavor Air subsidiary and are getting assistance from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board and regulators Transport Canada and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.

Webster echoed other aviation safety officials in saying it was too early to tell what happened to Flight 4819 from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, which had 80 people on board including crew.

Air crashes are usually caused by multiple factors.

Read more: Delta plane flips upside down on landing at Toronto airport, injuring 18

The reported weather conditions at the time of the crash indicated a “gusting crosswind and blowing snow,” flight tracking website FlightRadar24 said.

In a video shared widely on social media showing the plane’s descent, the landing appeared flat and did not show the regular “flare” maneuver, where pilots pull the nose up to increase pitch just prior to touchdown to slow speed, experts said.

“The question is why was it so firm,” U.S. aviation safety expert John Cox said of the landing, but stressed that investigators are still gathering data and evidence.
“The analytics start later,” he said.

The 16-year-old CRJ900, made by Canada’s Bombardier (BBDb.TO), opens new tab and powered by GE Aerospace (GE.N), opens new tab engines, can seat up to 90 people. At least one of the two wings was no longer attached to the plane, video showed after the accident.