Snow was being blown by winds gusting to 40 mph (65 kph) when the flight from Minneapolis carrying 76 passengers and four crew attempted to land on a dry runway at around 2:15 pm. Authorities said the cause of the crash remained under investigation

Video posted to social media only showed the aftermath with the Mitsubishi CRJ-900LR overturned, the fuselage seemingly intact and firefighters dousing what was left of the fire as passengers climbed out and walked across the tarmac

"We are very grateful there was no loss of life and relatively minor injuries," Deborah Flint, CEO of Greater Toronto Airports Authority, told reporters

Toronto Pearson Fire Chief Todd Aitken said 18 passengers were taken to the hospital. Earlier in the day, Ornge air ambulance said it was transporting one pediatric patient to Toronto's SickKids hospital and two injured adults to other hospitals in the city

Tower controllers were heard speaking with the crew of a medical helicopter that had just left Pearson and was returning to help with the crash. The plane came to a rest at the intersection of Runways 23 and 15L, the controller said. That's not far from the start of the runway

"Just so you're aware, there's people outside walking around the aircraft there," a tower controller said

"Yeah, we've got it. The aircraft is upside down and burning," the medical helicopter pilot responded

According to the Meteorological Service of Canada, the airport was experiencing blowing snow and winds of 32 mph (51 kph) gusting to 40 mph (65 kph). The temperature was about 16.5 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 8.6 degrees Celsius)

"It's very rare to see something like this," said John Cox, CEO of aviation safety consulting firm Safety Operating Systems in St. Petersburg, Florida. "We've seen a couple of cases of takeoffs where airplanes have ended up inverted, but it's pretty rare"