The alert system of the plane that crashed at Toronto’s Pearson airport last month indicated a rapid descent rate less than three seconds before touchdown, a preliminary report into the crash has found.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) issued its report on March 20 as part of its ongoing investigation into the Feb. 17 crash landing during which the Delta Air Lines plane arriving from Minneapolis caught fire before overturning on the runway.
All 76 passengers and four crew members survived, but 21 individuals were injured and taken to hospital. All were released by Feb. 21.
The TSB report indicates the ground proximity warning system was triggered 2.6 seconds before the aircraft touched down, “indicating a high rate of descent.” At that time, the plane showed an airspeed of 136 knots—which is roughly 250 kilometres per hour—and a rate of descent of 1,100 feet per minute….