The Delta Air Lines jet came down fast, landing so hard that it lost its right wing, then burst into flames on a runway in Toronto. The aircraft slid to a stop, upside down, a trail of black smoke in its wake and passengers scrambling to escape the wreckage.

Miraculously, all 80 people on board the flight from Minneapolis to Toronto’s Pearson International Airport survived the crash Monday afternoon. All but two of the 21 people injured on the flight have been released from hospitals, the airport CEO said Tuesday.

”How grateful we are there was no loss of life or life threatening injuries,” Deborah Flint, CEO of Greater Toronto Airports Authority, said during a news conference. “The crew heroically led passengers to safety. I thank each and everyone one of those heroes.”

Authorities said the cause of the crash remains under investigation. Communications between the tower and pilot were normal on approach and it’s not clear what went wrong when the plane touched down.

“This would not be a time for us to have theory or to speculate on what caused the crash,” Flint said.

At the time of the flight’s arrival, Pearson was experiencing blowing snow and winds of 32 mph (51 kph) gusting to 40 mph (65 kph), according to the Meteorological Service of Canada. The temperature was about 16.5 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 8.6 degrees Celsius).

Peter Carlson, a passenger traveling to Toronto for a paramedics conference, said the landing was “very forceful.”

“All the sudden everything just kind of went sideways and the next thing I know, it’s kind of a blink and I’m upside down still strapped in,” he told CBC News.

Canadian authorities held two brief news conferences Monday but provided few details. The aircraft was a Mitsubishi CRJ-900 made by the Canadian company Bombardier.

Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in a statement that “the hearts of the entire global Delta family are with those affected.”

The crash was the fourth major aviation accident in North America in recent weeks. A commercial jetliner and an Army helicopter collided near Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 29, killing 67 people. A medical transportation plane crashed in Philadelphia on Jan. 31, killing the six people on board and another person on the ground. And on Feb. 6, 10 people were killed in a plane crash in Alaska.

The last major crash at Pearson was on Aug. 2, 2005, when an Airbus A340 from Paris skidded off the runway and burst into flames in stormy weather. All 309 passengers and crew aboard Air France Flight 358 survived.

The Delta flight was cleared to land at about 2:10 p.m. Audio recordings show the control tower warned the pilots of a possible air flow “bump” on approach.

“It was windy, but the airplanes are designed and certified to handle that,” said John Cox, CEO of aviation safety consulting firm Safety Operating Systems in St. Petersburg, Florida. “The pilots are trained and experienced to handle that.”

The plane came to a rest at the intersection of Runways 23 and 15L.

Carlson said when he took off his seat belt he crashed onto the ceiling, which had become the floor. He smelled gas, saw aviation fuel cascading down the cabin windows and knew he needed to get out, but his paramedic skills kicked in and he looked for those he could help.

Carlson and another man assisted a mother and her young son out of the plane and then Carlson dropped onto the tarmac. He said snow was blowing but “I didn’t care how cold it was, didn’t care how far I had to walk, how long I had to stand — all of us just wanted to be out of the aircraft.”

Cox, who flew for U.S. Airways for 25 years and has worked on U.S. National Transportation Safety Board investigations, said the CRJ-900 has been in service for decades and does a good job of handling inclement weather, but that it’s unusual for any plane to end up on its roof.

“We’ve seen a couple of cases of takeoffs where airplanes have ended up inverted, but it’s pretty rare,” Cox said.

Among the questions that need to be answered, Cox said, is why the crashed plane was missing its right wing. He said the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder will be imperative to understanding what actually occurred.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that the Transportation Safety Board of Canada would head up the investigation and provide any updates. The NTSB in the U.S. said it was sending a team to assist.

Endeavor Air, based in Minneapolis, is a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines and the world’s largest operator of CRJ-900 aircraft. The airline operates 130 regional jets on 700 daily flights to over 126 cities in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean, according to the company’s website.

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Republished with permission of The Associated Press.

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St. Cloud Police Chief Douglas Goerke will be one of eight inaugural members of Florida’s new State Immigration Enforcement Council.

Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson named Goerke to the panel, where he’ll join four appointees chosen by the Legislature’s top two officials in advising the Cabinet on how best to coordinate immigration enforcement with President Donald Trump’s administration.

“I am proud to appoint Chief Goerke to the State Immigration Enforcement Council,” Simpson said in a statement.

“Florida is leading the way in enforcing immigration laws, holding the line against illegal immigration, and ensuring criminals do not find sanctuary in our communities. Chief Goerke’s leadership, experience, and dedication to upholding the law will be instrumental in driving our efforts to protect Florida citizens.”

Goerke’s law enforcement career dates back nearly a quarter-century, beginning when he joined the Orlando Police Department in 2001. He ultimately rose to the rank of Deputy Chief.

He also served as a Task Force Agent for the Department of Homeland Security and as executive co-chair of the Orlando Urban Area Security Initiative. He held command assignments over the Tactical Patrol Unit, Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation, Intelligence Unit, Patrol Division, Professional Standards Division, and Orlando International Airport.

In January 2022, he was selected as Chief of the St. Cloud Police Department. Last year, the agency responded to more than 93,000 service calls.

Goerke holds a master’s degree in public administration and a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice administration. He graduated from the FBI National Academy and was recognized by the Florida Police Chiefs Association as “Outstanding Command Officer of the Year” in 2018.

His community involvements include serving as President of the Florida Chapter of the Gary Sinise Foundation, a veterans charity.

Goerke said in a statement that he was honored by the appointment and thanked Simpson for the opportunity.

“Ensuring the safety and security of our communities is a top priority,” he said. “I look forward to working with fellow law enforcement leaders to provide meaningful recommendations and assistance to the board to further strengthen illegal immigration enforcement efforts across Florida.”

Established under SB 2C, a sweeping immigration measure Gov. Ron DeSantis signed less than an hour after lawmakers passed it last Thursday, the State Immigration Enforcement Council is composed of eight members: four appointed by the Senate President and House Speaker, and four appointed by each member of the Cabinet.

All must be Police Chiefs or Sheriffs.

Once up and running, the Council will advise and make recommendations to DeSantis and the Cabinet on local immigration enforcement efforts, needs and information sharing. The Council will also seek training and strategic guidance from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and provide DeSantis and the Cabinet, acting as a new State Board of Immigration Enforcement, on strategies to increase the number of available detention beds that ICE can use.

State Immigration Enforcement Council members will typically serve four-year terms; however, to ensure staggered terms, the four members initially appointed by DeSantis, Simpson, CFO Jimmy Patronis and Attorney General James Uthmeier will serve two-year terms.

Other inaugural members include Sheriffs Bob Gualtieri and Grady Judd, whom Senate President Ben Albritton appointed, and Sheriffs Bill Prummell and T.K. Waters, whom House Speaker Daniel Perez appointed.

The original appointing authority must fill any vacancy on the Council.

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Last Call – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.

First Shot

After a few Special Sessions, lawmakers are back to regularly scheduled business, advancing several bills proposed for the Regular Session kicking off next month.

Tuesday saw the Senate Health Policy Committee move forward on Sen. Tracie Davis‘ proposal (SB 152) requiring certain health care facilities to install fume extractor systems for surgical smoke, and the same committee OK’d Sen. Jennifer Bradley’s prescription hearing aids bill (SB 126).

Bradley’s proposal continues a yearslong effort to rewrite obsolete state regulations blocking access to mail-order hearing aids — Florida is currently one of only two states in the nation, along with New York, that places a blanket restriction on delivering hearing aids by mail.

The 2025 pitch would allow prescription hearing aids to be delivered by mail so long as an audiologist or hearing aid specialist tests the device before it is sent.

Meanwhile, the Senate Community Affairs Committee cleared legislation by Sen. Jason Brodeur (SB 118) giving the state preemption powers over local governments regarding a future Donald Trump presidential library.

The bill reserves to the state “all regulatory authority over the establishment, maintenance, activities, and operations of presidential libraries.” It blocks “counties, municipalities, or other political subdivisions from enacting or enforcing any ordinance, resolution, rule, or other measure regarding presidential libraries unless authorized by federal law.”

Evening Reads

—“U.S. and Russia pursue partnership in a head-spinning shift in relations” via Anton Troianovski and Ismaeel Naar of The New York Times

—“Marco Rubio is walking into a trap” via Mark Hertling of The Bulwark

—”Donald Trump’s revenge now includes his takeover of the Kennedy Center” via Elisabeth Bumiller of The New York Times

—“This won’t end well” via Ron Fournier of Convulsions

—”Senate Democrats see ‘flashing red warning’ from DOJ ethics memo” via Ben Penn of Bloomberg Law

—”The Trump administration told a judge Elon Musk does not head DOGE. Huh?” via Andrew Prokop of Vox

—”How COVID pushed a generation of young people to the right” via Derek Thompson of The Atlantic

—“An open letter to Congress” via Ana Maria Rodriguez and Toby Overdorf for Florida Politics

—”High-ranking D.C. federal prosecutor resigns after order to investigate EPA grants” via Carol D. Leonnig and Spencer S. Hsu of The Washington Post

—”My radical proposal to save the NBA All-Star Game” via Chris Cillizza of So What

Quote of the Day

“For three years, no one else has been able to bring something together like what we saw today because Donald Trump is the only leader in the world that can.”

— Secretary of State Macro Rubio, on discussions to normalize U.S.-Russia relations and end the war in Ukraine.

Put it on the Tab

Look to your left, then look to your right. If you see one of these people at your happy hour haunt, flag down the bartender and put one of these on your tab. Recipes included, just in case the Cocktail Codex fell into the well.

Pour shots of Russian Standard for Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, who spent the day working to normalize relations with Russia.

Send a Smoked Manhattan to Sen. Tracie Davis, whose surgical smoke amelioration bill receives strong support from Florida nurses.

Tell them not to hold their breath, but Floridians still waiting on insurance payouts from hurricanes Helene and Milton could use a Wait For It.

Breakthrough Insights

Tune In

Gators riding high as regular season hits homestretch

The Florida Gators host Oklahoma tonight, and they have a chance to further solidify their spot as one of the top teams in the country (7 p.m. ET, ESPN2).

Florida (22-3, 9-3 SEC) has earned the program’s highest ranking since ending the 2013-2014 season ranked atop the Associated Press Top 25. The Gators have won four straight games, including road victories over #1 Auburn and #22 Mississippi State.

In the latest Bracketology projection by ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, the Gators are listed as one of four number-one seeds in March Madness. Florida has entered the NCAA tournament as a number-one seed twice before. In 2014, Florida advanced to the Final Four before losing to Connecticut. In 2007, Florida went on to win a second consecutive national championship.

After tonight’s game, Florida has five regular season games remaining, including three against ranked teams: Texas A&M, Alabama, and Ole Miss.

Oklahoma (16-9, 3-9 SEC) opened the season with 13 consecutive victories in nonconference play. Since opening play in the SEC, the Sooners have struggled. Oklahoma has lost five of the last six games. Tonight’s game is one of 10 against ranked teams in an 11-game stretch. The only unranked team Oklahoma has faced since Jan. 28 was LSU, who beat the Sooners on Saturday 82-79.

All 16 SEC teams make the conference tournament, but seeds nine through 16 play opening-round games. Seeds five through eight enter the second round, while the top four seeds receive byes through to the third round.

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Last Call is published by Peter Schorsch, assembled and edited by Phil Ammann and Drew Wilson, with contributions from the staff of Florida Politics.

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