‘A miracle’: Filipino priest survives Delta plane crash, recounts experience
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On Feb. 17, a Delta Airlines passenger plane crash-landed at Toronto Pearson Airport. Filipino priest Fr. Joal Bernales, one of the 80 passengers who survived the crash, has recounted his harrowing experience, describing their escape from death as ‘a miracle.’
The Minneapolis-to-Toronto flight skidded off the runway, lost a wing, burst into flames and flipped upside down as it tried to land at the airport, leaving 21 people injured.
According to an Associated Press report, all but two of the injured passengers have been released from hospitals. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
Fr. Bernales, who serves as the pastor of the Archdiocesan Shrine and Parish of St. Joseph in Bicol, Philippines, was on a flight from Phoenix, Arizona, with a layover in Minnesota before boarding the Delta flight to Toronto.
He was on his way to Markham, Ontario, to see his relatives.
Fr. Bernales told CP24 he had rested and prayed during the flight, which was mostly uneventful.
As the plane crash-landed at the airport, it skidded down the tarmac, catching fire when it hit the pavement, then flipped over and came to a halt.
“So for me, it was really a hard touchdown. I was so aware of that, so hard. And then, that’s the time it was off balance,” Bernales shared.
“And then everything in there comes so fast, and then it stops. But when the plane stopped, everything is in chaos,” he continued. “But good thing that there’s still humanity, that all of us were saying, ‘Are you good? Are you good? Are you good?’”
He described the initial panic inside the overturned aircraft, with passengers hanging upside down in their seats and some of them with “blood in the face.”
Bernales believed divine intervention played a role in their survival. “For me, it’s really a miracle. I would see everything in the perspective, of course, of faith, in God’s eyes.”
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Moments before the explosion
A Delta Air Lines plane lies upside down at Toronto Pearson Airport on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)
Fr. Bernales, seated in row six, recalled the stressful moments before evacuation. The Filipino priest’s seatmate unclipped his seatbelt before they were both ushered toward the exit of the plane.
As the final group of passengers, including Bernales, exited the plane, there was a loud explosion.
Survivors were shuttled to Terminal 1, where they gave statements to authorities.
Bernales was reunited with his family at 7 p.m. He has since reached out to his diocese in the Philippines, requesting a Mass of Thanksgiving for the plane crash survivors.
“You know, my reflection on this is that we still have a mission in life to finish because all of us are in the hands of God,” Bernales said.
