An aviation expert with more than 30,000 flight hours says it is 鈥渧ery rare鈥� for an aircraft to end up upside down in a crash, as was the case with a Delta Air Lines plane that flipped on the tarmac at Toronto鈥檚 Pearson Airport Monday.

J. Joseph, a 29-year veteran aviator in the United States Marine Corp., says it is much too early in the investigation to jump to conclusions about what happened, but conditions in Toronto were 鈥渜uite windy鈥� at the time of the crash.

Joseph says high winds, especially crosswinds that blow perpendicular to the plane, could 鈥減resent certain challenges to pilots鈥� as they try to navigate the landing at Pearson Airport.

The flight from Minneapolis crashed Monday, intact but upside down, with the wheels of the Mitsubishi CRJ-900LR jutting into the air on the snow-covered tarmac.

Several of the 76 passengers and four crew members were injured.

In an audio conversation between the airport tower and the Delta flight shortly before landing, the tower warned the pilots of a possible air flow 鈥渂ump鈥� in the plane鈥檚 landing glide path stemming from an aircraft in front of it.

But Joseph says it is unlikely that was a factor in the crash, given that air-traffic control is exceptionally skilled at planning adequate space between planes to prevent too much impact from wake turbulence, adding that the strong winds would present a bigger risk.

鈥淭oronto in the winter with high, gusty winds, it could be very challenging,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hose high winds and with regard to runway alignment, perhaps crosswind components in winds extremely strong from the left of the right of the aircraft, present certain challenges to the pilots.

鈥淚鈥檝e got 30,000 hours of flying airplanes. It never gets easy. I don鈥檛 care how much experience you have. Every set of circumstances is different, and the conditions change very dynamically.鈥�

But Joseph says how the plane ended upside down will still need to be explained.

鈥淔or an aircraft, particularly a large transport-category airplane, to end up in under those circumstances 鈥� upside down 鈥� is rather rare,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t has happened in the past, but I will tell you candidly, it is very rare.鈥�

Joseph also says the fuselage being preserved in the crash bodes well for the investigation, as the plane鈥檚 鈥渂lack box鈥� cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder will both likely be intact.

鈥淭here are going to be a lot of good data, real time, extracted from the data recorders, as well as the pilots and the flight crew being able to give statements,鈥� he says.

鈥淵ou learn a lot from mishaps and the investigation. The crux of why you do it in the first place is to preclude those types of mishaps from reoccurring.鈥�