[
A planeload of Porter Airlines passengers got an unexpected detour to Regina on Tuesday night, after their plane made an emergency landing.
The Embraer 195 jet had been cruising at 38,000 feet over Montana, en route from Hamilton, Ont., to Vancouver, when the plane suddenly made a steep descent around 7:30 p.m. CST, then diverted to Regina International Airport.
Porter Airlines has confirmed the plane cabin smelled of smoke.
The pilots landed the plane safely in Regina at 8:33 p.m. CST.
“The captain elected to land in Regina as a precaution due to the smell of smoke in the cabin, although none was visible,” a spokesperson for Porter Airlines wrote in an email to CBC News on Wednesday morning.
At 8:20 PM, Porter flight 483 declared an emergency and landed at YQR. All passengers were safely deplaned and moved inside the terminal building. There are no impacts to YQR operations and flights are operating as normal.
They said the 85 passengers and five crew members onboard the flight stayed in hotels overnight and will continue their journey to Vancouver on another aircraft.
“We appreciate the Regina Airport’s support on the ground and the patience of passengers as we prioritize safe operations,” the email said.
A steep descent
The aircraft is recorded on Flight Radar 24 as descending at 10,000 feet per minute at one point.
The plane turns directly toward Regina during this descent, then levels off around 7,000 feet for some time.
Then, the aircraft turns as if it might be heading to Calgary and climbs back up to 14,000 feet.
Then the aircraft turned toward Regina again, and the pilots began a more normal descent toward YQR, landing safely at 8:33 p.m.
Porter Airlines has not yet confirmed what caused the smell of smoke.