Passengers heard a 'big bang' before First Air plane turned around shortly after takeoff

A mechanical problem forced a flight to Norman Wells to return to Yellowknife a few minutes after taking off this morning.

The Avro RJ85 aircraft left Yellowknife for Norman Wells at 10:15 a.m., carrying 41 passengers. The First Air flight was being operated by Summit Air.

"We were just barely 10 minutes in the air," said Mary Jane Kunkel of Tulita, who was on the flight. "And a few minutes after that... we heard a big bang.

"It was an unusual big bang, and everyone kind of looked at each other and started to get nervous and scared. And shortly after that, the plane was turning around to go back to Yellowknife."

"As soon as I heard that bang, I knew something was wrong," said Gayle Strikes With A Gun, who was sitting next to Kunkel on the flight. "And when they informed us that we'd be turning around... I was quite relieved."

First Air spokesperson Dan Valin said the pilots advised the Yellowknife tower of a mechanical issue with one of the engines at 10:34 a.m. and shut the engine down as a precaution.

The pilots didn't declare an emergency, and landed the plane safely in Yellowknife about 10 minutes later.

There were no injuries, and Valin says that the plane will undergo a full assessment before the airline comments on what led to the shutdown.

"This was just done for precautionary measures," he said. "We don't want to take any safety issues lightly, or put anyone in danger. So, from a precautionary standpoint, this is just to be safe."

Passengers were to leave for Norman Wells on another flight later today.