Skier who escaped Toronto plane crash says passengers were told to hang upside down for ‘a while’

A professional skier who survived the Toronto plane crash said passengers were told to hang upside down for several terrifying moments before they were eventually led off the aircraft. 

Pete Koukov, a skier from Boulder, Colorado, described the moment travelers were suspended by their seatbelts surrounded by ‘sparks and flames’ after the plane flipped on Monday afternoon. 

‘People were hanging there for about a minute,’ Koukov told NBC’s Today show as he recalled the crash on Tuesday. 

He added that people were ‘feeling pretty frantic,’ but miraculously everyone managed to escape and there were no fatalities.

At least 18 people were left injured, including a child, after Endeavor Flight 4819 with 80 people on board crashed on an icy runway at Toronto Pearson International Airport in Canada at around 2.15pm local time.

‘I didn’t really notice anything wrong until the moment we hit the ground,’ Koukov explained.

‘For me, it was just kind of like, the wheels touched down, and all of a sudden I just remember being fully sideways looking down and seeing sparks and flames and whatever was grinding against the ground. 

‘It happened pretty dang quick and then we were just hanging upside down, hanging from our seatbelts.’

Koukov said he managed to unclip himself and stand on the roof of the plane. He said crew members told the remaining passengers ‘not to get out of their seats’ at that point. 

Koukov shared harrowing footage of terrified passengers scrambling to safety via his Instagram account, where he normally posts skiing videos. 

The clips showed chairs hanging from the ceiling while bags were strewn across the upturned cabin. A woman climbed over the door frame while three men supported her by her arms as she climbed out of the wreckage. 

Koukov filmed the evacuation from beside the exit, and he kept the camera rolling as he landed in the snow before panning over to reveal the crushed plane with smoke billowing from its bottom. 

A fire engine parked nearby was seen spraying water at the overturned wreckage while remaining passengers scrambled out of the plane and ran for safety.

‘Holy f**k,’ Koukov could be heard saying repeatedly. ‘Oh my f***ing God. Yo, I was just on this f***ing plane.’ 

The survivor shared the stunning footage alongside the caption: ‘Being alive feels pretty cool today’.

Later, he recalled the harrowing experience of having to unstrap himself from his seat while upside down and hurry to the emergency exit.

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

‘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.’

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

The commercial jet had departed from Minneapolis just before midday prior to landing upside down with one of its wings snapped off.

Canadian authorities have said they are still working to determine the cause of the crash. 

In separate footage showing the plane making contact with the ground, the Bombardier CR900 was seen coming in for the landing in blustery and windy conditions. 

Upon impact, a fireball erupted and the plane appeared to tilt to one side.

The video matches the recollection of passenger John Nelson, who told CNN the plane ‘went sideways and… we skidded on our side and flipped over on our back.’

He added: ‘When we hit, it was super hard.

‘I did notice the winds were super gusty. The snow had kinda blown over the runways. So coming it was routine but it was noticeable that the runways were in kind of a weird condition.’

The moment the plane stopped, Nelson noticed ‘there was a big fireball on the left side of the plane.’ 

‘Thankfully everybody was okay. We tried to get off as quickly as possible. There was another explosion, but luckily, the firefighters got out of there,’ he said.

Former National Transportation Safety Board managing director Peter Goelz told CNN that it appeared a strong gust of wind had hit the plane just as it touched down, causing it to tip over and for the wing to tear off.

He said the impact caused a fire in the fuel cells in the wing.

Canadian authorities held two press conferences on Monday night providing limited updates about the crash.

In total, 18 passengers were treated for various injuries.

The youngest victim, reportedly a four-year-old, was taken to The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.

Two adults were airlifted to trauma centers nearby – one went to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center and the other to St. Michael’s Hospital.

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

Airport staff had also worked through the night to clear about eight inches of snow that had blanketed the ground.

‘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.

The plane was operated by a regional airline, Endeavor Air, a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta Air Lines headquartered in Minneapolis.

Delta CEO Ed Bastian issued a statement shortly after the incident, revealing the airline had 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.’

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

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

Audio recovered from the air traffic control tower between controllers and a Medevac helicopter has shed light on the incident.

About 2.13pm on Monday, one official could be heard saying: ‘This airplane has just crashed.’

During a separate conversation between air traffic controllers and a Medevac helicopter, first responders in the skies revealed what they could see from above.

‘Just so you’re aware, there’s people also walking around the aircraft there,’ one person says.

‘Yeah, we’ve got it,’ another man responds. ‘The aircraft is upside down and burning.’

Canada’s Transportation Safety Board would be the ones to investigate the crash as it happened in Canadian territory.

US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said FAA investigators were on the way to Toronto and that he had been in touch with his counterpart in Canada to offer assistance and help with the investigation.

The FAA has been under intense scrutiny since President Trump returned to the White House, handing ‘First Buddy’ Elon Musk authority to cut and cull entire departments as part of his work eliminating excessive government spending.

The White House began firing hundreds of workers at the FAA this past weekend, with members of Musk’s SpaceX team scheduled to meet the remaining senior staff to begin implementing new improvements.

David Spero, president of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, said the first emails were sent to probationary workers late on Friday night.

He said hundreds had received notice that their employment was terminated.