“Any landing you can walk away from is a good one” - Time-worn aviation cliche attributed to Chuck Yeager and Alan Shepherd
See
Linked Video of the Delta CRJ jet with 80 aboard smacking the runway hard, partially disintegrating, burning and rolling over Sunday in Toronto. Amazingly, everyone survived. Not to make light of the suffering. Twenty were injured. At last count 4 were in critical condition. Must have been a harrowing experience.
From what I’ve heard, there was a stiff crosswind off the right of the aircraft as it touched down. A slight bank to the right as it neared the ground would have been routine to counteract the crosswind. The plane hit the runway unusually hard (reasons unexplainable at this point) and the right wing struck the ground and then tore off. With no right wing, the plane then flipped over on the right side and rolled completely over. One commentator suggested there was enough remaining lift on the left wing to cause the rollover - but this is beyond my knowledge level.
A fire erupted in the “belly tank” and was quickly extinguished by ground support. Apparently, both wings came off before the craft came to a stop. That was a blessing, as most of the craft’s fuel is stored in the wings. Passengers were left hanging upside down belted in. They were told to remain in place for about 60 seconds by the flight crew before being directed to unbuckle and drop to the ceiling of the craft. It appears many of the injuries occurred at that time. The flight attendants have been praised for calm decisive actions leading to the survival of all aboard.
The flight originated in Minneapolis, a prominent Delta hub. The video was shot from the cockpit of another plane on the ground. The flight was operated by a regional airline, interestingly, a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta. As most probably know, cross-wind landings in a stiff wind can be difficult. By some accounts winds were gusting to around 40 mph - significant for this size craft - but within its capabilities. Sometimes a pilot will opt to do a last minute “go-around” if unsure whether the craft can safely touch down. This is not to fault the crew. It’s too early to know what caused the crash. About half of Pearson Airport, Toronto, is currently closed causing serious delays.
