Alert – Incredible moment Toronto plane crash survivor films himself being rescued from upside down Delta aircraft: Live updates

Passenger Pete Koukov, who had been filming ski content, was on board the plane and shared extraordinary video of the moment he escaped the wreckage.

‘Being alive feels pretty cool today,’ he captioned the video.

In the video, Koukov was climbing out of the upside down plane with the assistance of a female crew member, who was telling passengers: ‘Come on. Don’t take no video. Put that phone away.’

Koukov, clearly in shock, pivoted his camera to capture the upside down plane.

‘Holy f**k,’ he said repeatedly. ‘Oh my f***ing God. Yo, I was just on this f***ing plane.’

His video attracted praise for the no-nonsense flight attendant who appeared calm and helpful during crisis.

‘Notice how important flight attendants are,’ one person said.

‘The planes inverted and they getting the job done good work on the crew,’ another added.

‘Kudos to the crew for evacuating everyone safety. The training Flight Attendants go though isn’t for the faint of heart or to serve a coke and a cookie.’

Canadian authorities have been criticized for refusing to answer questions or clear up any confusion about the Delta crash during a media press conference on Monday night.

After providing a short statement, the Fire Chief and his team walked away from the podium, ignoring shouted questions from media in the crowd.

One particularly riled up reporter shouted after them.

He said: ‘The eyes of North America are on here and you’re walking away from the microphone.

‘What are you guys doing? You’re walking away from the microphones while everyone’s watching.’

Chief Todd Aitken has urged the public not to speculate about the cause of the crash as an investigation is conducted.

He said the runway was ‘dry’ at the time of the crash.

‘Three of our stations in the airport operating area responded with eight apparatus,’ he said.

In all, 18 paramedic units arrived at the scene. When emergency services arrived, a ‘self evacuation’ was already taking place.

‘This is an active investigation. It’s very early on. It’s important that we do not speculate. What we can say, is the runway was dry and there was no cross wind conditions.’

According to data from Environment Canada, wind gusts reached between 51 to 65 kilometres per hour at the time of the crash, with blowing snow.

Pete Koukov told CNN that he and his fellow passengers were ‘hanging like bats’ after the crash.

‘We hit the ground, and we were sideways, and then we were upside down hanging like bats,’ he said.

Koukov did not even realize anything had gone wrong until the moment the plane crashed, but said he felt blessed that he walked away unscathed.

‘Just feeling lucky and happy I got to give the person I didn’t know sitting next to me a big hug, that we were OK, and see my friends who are here to pick me up from the airport and give them a big hug,’ he said.

Koukov said while he was able to unbuckle his own seatbelt and walk off the plane, there were other passengers who required greater assistance.

Authorities have revealed that 22 of the passengers were Canadian, while the others were ‘multinationals.’

‘We are very grateful there was no loss of life, and relatively minor injuries,’ Toronto Pearson President and CEO Deborah Flint said during a Monday night press conference.

‘There was no loss of life and this is in due part to our heroic and trained professionals, our first responders at the airport.’

Two runways will remain closed during the investigation.

On January 29, 67 people tragically died when an American Airlines passenger plane collided with a Black Hawk Army helicopter over the Potomac River.

It marked the first fatal crash involving a US commercial airline since 2009, when 50 people died in Buffalo, New York, following a crash of a Bombardier DHC-C propeller aircraft.

The National Transportation Safety Board will lead a team of American investigators to assist the Transportation Safety Board of Canada in the investigation into this crash.

It comes amid heightened concerns about a series of crashes involving American passenger planes.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he has been in touch with his Canadian counterpart, adding ‘FAA investigators are en route to Toronto.’

All 76 passengers and four crew have been accounted for as authorities confirm that, miraculously, there were no fatalities.

Transport Minister Anita Anand’s office shared the official update on Monday evening.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre issued a statement on X on Monday night.

He wrote: ‘I’m extremely concerned by the plane crash earlier this afternoon at Toronto’s Pearson airport.

‘My thoughts are with the passengers and crew, and all those working to respond to this awful situation. Wishing a rapid recovery to all injured.’

‘The hearts of the entire global Delta family are with those affected by today’s incident at Toronto-Pearson International Airport,” Bastian said.

‘I want to express my thanks to the many Delta and Endeavor team members and the first responders on site.’

The airline has activated its ‘Passenger Inquiry Center for family and loved ones of customers involved in today’s accident’ to ensure they can contact Delta officials for more information.

‘In Canada, these individuals may reach out via 1-866-629-4775. In the United States, they may connect using 1-800-997-5454,’ the airline said.

The airport said in a statement: ‘Aside from the flights to and from YYZ (Toronto Pearson) being affected, it’s a typical operation at YOW (Ottawa) that includes residual delays and cancellations from the storm that impacted many cities in North America over the past several days.

‘We are supporting the airlines and ground handlers, and have extra resources on hand in the event that any of the flights are deplaned and passengers require support.’

Montreal and Winnipeg airports have sent alerts to travelers saying flights to Toronto will be delayed in the wake of the crash.

Some Toronto-bound flights have been diverted to Ottawa International Airport.

The outgoing Canadian Prime Minister has been tweeting about the 4Nations ice hockey game between Canada and Finland, hours after the crash which has left three people in a critical condition.

Eighteen people have been confirmed injured in the crash, according to CTV News.

Two adults and a child sustained critical injuries, while 12 more patients were taken to local hospitals with less serious injuries, per the latest update.

Some 80 people were on board the plane in total – 76 passengers and four crew members.

Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport in Quebec is preparing to receive ‘several diversion flights’, officials said on X.

Some 237 flights have been canceled at the airport where the crash happened, according to Flightradar24.

Fox News reported the aircraft was battered by strong winds of 70mph as it tried to land amid a winter storm which has been sweeping the US.

Tom Costello, a senior correspondent for NBC, blamed President Trump for the Canadian crash.

‘This is going to, yet again, raise the concern about FAA staffing, air traffic control staffing.

‘Now this is a Canadian air traffic control tower, and this is under Canadian authority once it crosses the border.

‘And yet, there has been talk about maybe staff cuts at the FAA as a part of President Trump’s efforts to trim down the federal workforce.’

One child and two adults have been critically injured in the crash, according to CTV News.

Initial reports said eight people had been injured overall.

‘Delta is aware of reports of Endeavor Flight 4819 operating from Minneapolis/St. Paul to Toronto-Pearson International Airport as involved in an incident,’ the company said.

‘We are working to confirm any details and will share the most current information on news.delta.com as soon as it becomes available.’

Video from a Delta plane crash survivor showed one woman hanging upside down from her seat in the rolled over aircraft.

‘My plane crashed I’m upside down,’ she captioned the video.

She then recorded the terrified passengers stumbling off the plane as they escape to safety.

‘I was just in a plane crash, oh my god,’ the shocked passenger stated.

The Association of Flight Attendants also issued a statement following the crash-landing.

‘Our union is responding to an incident in Toronto with Delta Air Lines Endeavor Flight 4819. AFA crew were working this flight,’ the statement read.

‘Reports are there are no fatalities. Please do not speculate on this incident as everyone works to gather information and support those involved.’

Toronto Pearson Airport’s website showed more than four dozen delayed flights leaving and arriving at the airport.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said there was a ground stop at the airport.

A plane crashed at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Monday and injured eight people, officials said.

Of the eight injuries, one was critical and the rest were mild to moderate, Peel Regional Paramedic Services Supervisor Lawrence Saindon said.

Images show the plane upside down on the airport runway. Passengers were seen exiting the aircraft and stepping onto the icy runway.

Emergency crews surrounded the plane after the crash landing and sprayed it with foam, preventing a potential deadly fire.