WestJet plane makes emergency landing in Thunder Bay
Aircraft carrying 95 passengers was headed for Toronto from Edmonton
A WestJet aircraft headed for Toronto from Edmonton made a successful emergency landing late Tuesday morning in Thunder Bay.
The plane, which departed from Edmonton at 7 a.m. MT, was surrounded by fire trucks at Thunder Bay airport but there was no sign of flames or visible smoke.
According to a statement from WestJet, the captain reported possible smoke in the cabin at about 9:30 a.m. MT and decided to divert to Thunder Bay.
Two passengers also said after landing that there had been an odour of smoke around the washroom at the rear of the aircraft.
“We're just flying around and all of a sudden we dropped altitude quite fast,” Whitney Modersohn, a passenger on the aircraft, told CBC News.
“And then the stewardesses were running around and they finally told us that there was smoke in the back lavatory and we were going to land in Thunder Bay.”
Modersohn, on his way to Atlanta via Toronto, added that everyone on board was calm and collected during the incident.
There were 95 passengers on board plus six crew members, Passengers were taken inside the terminal after leaving the Boeing 737, and were later given seats on other flights to Toronto.
WestJet maintenance crews examined the aircraft, and determined the problem was a burned-out light in the rear lavatory.