Tuesday, February 18

Dozens of people were injured after a Delta plane crash-landed upside-down in Toronto, but miraculously, no one was killed.

Delta Airlines Flight 4819, a 16-year-old CRJ900 aircraft, departed from Minneapolis on Monday with 80 people on board, and it traveled east for around two hours before making its descent into Toronto, which had been enveloped in a blizzard for the previous few days. The runway, located at Toronto Pearson International Airport, had been covered in snow, and weather conditions at the time had contributed to a tough landing. Just moments after the wheels touched the runway, the plane had skidded into a roll, and within seconds, the plane was smoking, upside-down, in the middle of the runway.

All 76 passengers and four crew survived the crash, which had occurred at high speed and had resulted in the destruction of the plane, and quickly climbed out into the freezing weather as the plane began smoking from its belly. First responders rushed to the scene, with officials helping people evacuate the aircraft while firefighters doused the remains of the plane in water.

An investigation quickly began taking place, and more information was found out after interviews with passengers and several expert analyses. Passengers told media that the plane had been coming in smoothly, but the moment it hit the ground, there was a large skid, presumably due to the slippery conditions on the tarmac. Others reported seeing fire outside the window before the aircraft went into a roll, skidding down the runway upside-down before screeching to a halt. Images showed the plane's body lying upside-down on the tarmac with the right wing mostly clipped off, while the left wing was battered but partly intact.

Several analyses of the local weather conditions revealed that there were sustained winds of around 30 mph at the time of landing, along with gusts of an additional 8-10 mph. Due to the powdery snow on the ground, these winds may have affected visibility on the runway, obscuring the area in front of the pilot as snow blew across the ground.

Investigations into the incident are still ongoing, and authorities will aim to find out more about how the crash happened in the coming days. For now, Toronto's airport remains open, but two of its five runways are closed. This will just pile up onto the airport's woes as winter weather sparks numerous delays and cancellations across the region-- less runways to execute takeoffs and landings will just exacerbate those problems.

Fact of the Day (Reader's Digest): Tuna fish can swim at a breakneck pace. The fastest speed a tuna can swim has been recorded at around 28 mph. By comparison, the fastest-ever human swimmer swam at a recorded speed of 5.05 mph.

Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, and others make it happen. (Michael Jordan)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Pertain (verb, per-TAYN) - To pertain to someone or something is to relate, refer, or have a connection to that person or thing.

In a Sentence: That law pertains only to people who live in this state.