Plane accident in Toronto Modern safety technology is said to have saved 80 lives

All 80 passengers survived the plane crash in Toronto on Monday. According to experts, the seats and fuel storage system may have contributed to this.

On Monday evening, an accident occurred when a plane landed at Toronto Airport. The Delta plane landed on its "back" on the runway. Black drag marks were visible on the plane. One wing was badly damaged. Fire and smoke billowed upwards. But all 80 occupants survived.

Michael McCormick, professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida, describes the landing as "the result of decades of improvements in aircraft safety", as CNN writes. "It's just phenomenal that an airplane can land on its back like that and people can still leave it," he says. According to McCormick, new aircraft models, technology and years of research in civil aviation have made this possible.

Lessons learned from the past

Experts have learned from previous aircraft accidents and improved fuel storage. In the past, kerosene was stored in the belly of the aircraft under the passengers; today it is mainly stored in the wings. During the crash landing of the Delta flight, the right wing filled with fuel broke off and caught fire.

The plane overturned, but the broken wing kept the flames away from the passenger cabin. This design may have saved lives, Joe Jacobsen, a veteran aerospace engineer, told CNN.

Jacobs explains that in the event of an accident, it must be investigated whether parts have broken as intended. The torn wing could indicate a maintenance or construction error. An investigation will now clarify this.

The seats are designed for extreme situations

Another reason why all the occupants probably survived: the seats in the plane. "Most modern commercial aircraft have to be equipped with so-called 16G seats. This means that they can withstand 16 times the force of gravity," explains McCormick.

"You don't want the seats to fall apart or come loose in an airplane accident - even if the plane is upside down," he says. The seats are therefore not specifically designed for comfort, but for durability in the event of an accident.

"If this crash had happened a few decades ago, the outcome would probably have been more tragic," says Peter Goelz, aviation analyst at CNN. "What has changed is that all commercial airplanes have seats that are locked to the rails as part of the fuselage and can withstand a crash," Goelz continues. If you then take into account the advances in the fire-retardant materials used, you would have a pretty good chance of surviving a crash landing.

The crew also did "a phenomenal job" during the evacuation, says Michael McCormick. The two flight attendants had never experienced a situation like this before, but were well prepared for it. And so all passengers were evacuated within 90 seconds.