Smoke in the cabin forced an unscheduled landing in Ottawa today for a Toronto-bound Air Canada Jazz flight from Fredericton, N.B.
The airline says emergency vehicles were at the ready after the crew of Flight 8953 requested "priority landing" at Ottawa's Macdonald-Cartier International Airport.
No one was injured as the 69 passengers quickly left the aircraft amid heavy rainfall in the national capital.
Emergency officials confirmed there was no fire on board, but the plane is being inspected to determine the cause of the smoke, said a Jazz spokeswoman.
Ottawa firefighters and paramedics were also called to the airport around 6 a.m., but were not involved in dealing with the plane or its passengers.
The passengers have since been booked on alternate transportation, the airline said.
"The crew requested priority landing into Ottawa and the flight landed safely," said Air Canada Jazz spokeswoman Debra Williams.
"Once on the ground the 69 passengers were deplaned rapidly as per our standard operating procedures - there were no injuries reported.... Emergency vehicles met the aircraft upon arrival and confirmed there was no fire on board."
It's the second time this week that emergency crews have been placed on standby at the Ottawa airport because of problems with an aircraft.
A Canadian North airplane destined for Iqaluit was evacuated Monday when a sensor alerted the crew of the Boeing 737 of a possible fire in the tail of the aircraft.
The plane's 72 passengers and four crew members disembarked as a precaution even though there were no visible signs of smoke.
Canadian North spokesman Graeme Burns said the incident was a false alarm.
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. An earlier version said there was smoke in the cockpit.
