Incredible footage emerges of plane crashing and flipping upside down

Terrified passengers have recalled the moment they were left "hanging upside down like bats" after a plane crashed and flipped during an icy landing. 

The Delta Airlines plane was landing at Toronto Pearson Airport during snowy conditions, when the plane touched down and immediately caught fire. 

Skidding along the runway, the plane then flipped upside down with 80 people onboard before coming to a halt. 

Video obtained by CNN shows the plane landing hard on the runway, with the plane's rear landing gear buckling upon impact with the snow and erupting into a fireball. 

 

 

 

 

 

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According to passengers John Nelson and Peter Koukov, the rollover left travellers hanging aloft until they could be freed. 

"We were upside down hanging like bats," Koukov said. 

The man was able to unbuckle himself and stand upright on the ceiling of the plane, but some people needed help getting down from their seats.

Officials said on Monday 21 people were taken to hospitals with injuries, including a child in good condition.

All but two of them had been released from hospital on Tuesday morning.

US man Pete Carlson was on board and told CBC News that it was "really amazing" he and his fellow passengers were alive.

"Everything just kind of went sideways," Carlson recalled.

"One minute you're landing, kind of waiting to see your friends and your people, and the next minute you're physically upside down."

Koukov, a professional skier from Colorado, told the New York Times that the flight was completely normal up until the final descent.

"The second that the wheels hit the ground, then everything happened," he said. "The next thing I know, we're sideways."

"We ended up completely upside-down. I unbuckled pretty fast and kind of lowered myself to the floor, which was the ceiling. People were panicking."

Image credits: Instagram