Air Canada plane forced to make landing after reports of smoke in cockpit
An Air Canada Express flight carrying 48 passengers has landed safely in Vancouver, despite reports of smoke in the cockpit.
The incident happened late Monday afternoon when the Bombardier Dash 8-300 was inbound from Victoria.
Chris Krystalowich was sitting in the front row and says he couldn't see any flames but could certainly smell the smoke. He describes hearing the pilots instructing the flight attendants on the landing.
"They were going to say deboard the plane immediately, and as soon as they could get off the main runway, it happened really quickly. She just said get off the plane and leave your bags and everyone got off really quick."
Company spokeswoman Debra Williams says emergency vehicles met the plane when it landed.
She says passengers exited through the main cabin door and were bused to the terminal building.
Williams says the aircraft was inspected and towed to the maintenance hanger, and the company is investigating what happened.
Air Canada Express flights are operated by Jazz Aviation LP, which operates a fleet of 124 Canadian-made aircraft.
