I keep watching the approach and landing repeatedly, and it appears to be quite a stable approach despite the 18 knot direct crosswind component and the gusty 21 knot headwind component. This data is derived from a Crosswind Component app based on 230@23G33 surface wind.
The landing is of course flat without a flare BUT I’ve seen a lot worse without the tragic results of this one. So this is puzzling and the fact of the first officer’s restricted ATP dated 9 January 2025.
The worst wind I’ve landed in was 010 variable 080 @ 26G42! That is in West Maui on a 3,000’ runway close to the mountains at Kapalua.
We’ve done several go-arounds there in a Dash-8, just due to the wind alone.
So this weather/wind scenario in Toronto doesn’t appear to be all that extreme.
My very first impression was that the right main collapsed. And why was Delta so quick to offer not only pax a $30,000 apology, but the pilots? “Things that make you go, Hmmmm?”