Pearson airport hopes to reopen runway that was site of fiery crash ‘as soon as possible’

The wreckage of a Delta Airlines plane that crashed on the runway at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Monday afternoon has now been removed from the tarmac following an on-site investigation by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada. The airline also confirmed Thursday that all injured passengers have now been released from hospital.

Here are the latest details:

• All 21 passengers injured in the crash have now been released from hospital
• The wreckage of the plane has been removed from the runway
• Delays and cancellations continue at Pearson, with Sunwing cancelling all flights departing to southbound destinations on Thursday

8:50 p.m.

Delta provided more information about the flight crew to correct what it called “disinformation” on social media “containing false and misleading assertions.”

The airline said the captain was hired by Mesaba Airline, a progenitor company of Endeavour Air, in Oct. 2007 and served both as an active duty captain and in-pilot training and flight safety capacities.

“Assertions that he failed training events are false. Assertions that he failed to flow into a pilot position at Delta Air Lines due to training failures are also false,” the airline said.

Meanwhile, the first officer was hired in Jan. 2024 and completed training in April.

“She has been flying for Endeavor since that time. Her flight experience exceeded the minimum requirements set by U.S. Federal regulations. Assertions that she failed training events are false,” Delta said, adding that both crew members are qualified and FAA-certified for their positions.

4:30 p.m.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) provided another update on their investigation, confirming that the runway was returned to the Greater Toronto Airports Authority for clean-up and return to operations.

The TSB says investigators will conduct interviews for the next several days and examine the wreckage at an airport hangar. The agency adds that data from the plane’s black box has been downloaded and is being analyzed.

The cause of the crash remains unknown. The TSB has said the plane, a Bombardier CRJ-900, “impacted the runway” upon landing on Monday.

“Following the initial impact, parts of the aircraft separated, notably a wing and the tail section, and a fire ensued. The fuselage came to rest slightly off the right side of the runway upside down facing the other direction,” the TSB said.

READ MORE: What experts say could have gone wrong with the Toronto Pearson plane crash

3 p.m.

Pearson airport officials says that crews are currently inspecting the runway where the crash of Flight 4819 occurred on Monday with the goal of reopening it “as soon as possible.

12:30 p.m.

Delta Airlines says all 21 passengers hospitalized after Monday’s plane crash have been released from hospital.

“The Delta and Endeavor families are grateful that all those injured Monday have been released from the hospital, and we extend our thanks to everyone who provided care to them over the past few days,” Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in a written statement.

“We will continue to connect one-on-one with customers, employees and loved ones as we move forward to make sure their needs are met with care.”

12 p.m.

Sunwing Airlines cancelled all southbound flights departing from Pearson International Airport for a second day in a row.

11:30

About five per cent of flights departing out of Pearson have been cancelled today and about 11 per cent of departing flights have experienced some type of delay. About 28 per cent of arriving flights have been delayed and about six per cent have been cancelled.

7 a.m.

Jake Keating, the duty manager for Toronto Pearson International Airport, said Sunwing will continue to experience challenges for the next couple of days amid widespread cancellations due to weather and Monday’s plane crash. Keating said the airline is working to reunite people with baggage after flights were cancelled.

“This is really a Sunwing issue to get those bags to them. What I can say is it will take some time. The baggage volume was pretty massive coming in,” he said.

Several Sunwing flights out of Pearson airport have been cancelled today after the airline cancelled 13 flights on Wednesday.

In a statement on its website, the airline said the cancellation of southbound flights would allow it to “prioritize the safe return of customers currently delayed in destinations due to recent weather disruptions, crew availability constraints and extremely limited hotel capacity.”

4 a.m.

The Delta Airlines plane that crashed on the runway at Toronto Pearson International Airport has now been removed from the tarmac.