Ninety-three Air Canada passengers and crew are shaken but safe after their flight issued a mayday call before landing at Toronto’s Pearson Airport on Sunday morning.
Pilots onboard Air Canada Flight 1174 from Edmonton made the mayday call Sunday morning when a flight control indicator light came on, an Air Canada representative told CTV News by email.
The flight, which was originally scheduled to land at 6:35 a.m., circled Lake Ontario before making its landing at 7:10 a.m., according to the airport.
Monique Auffrey, a passenger on the plane, said she was taking a nap when her husband woke her up to say something was wrong.
"I observed the flight crew sort of gathering, talking and I looked at the screen in front of me and could see that the plane was being diverted from Toronto to what looked like maybe New York or Buffalo," Auffrey told CP24 on Sunday.
"Then suddenly the screen went blank and the captain came on and said that there is a problem, that we would be making an emergency landing and that we would be taught how to brace ourselves."
Auffrey said the plane flew over Lake Ontario for about half an hour as crew members began teaching passengers how to prepare for the descent.
"We were very scared, it seemed like it was going to be a very scary landing," she said. "We didn't know if the brakes weren't working or the tires weren't going to come down."
Auffrey said crew members remained calm throughout the tense ordeal, easing the nerves of anxious passengers.
"We started to approach what looked like the Toronto Pearson Airport tarmac; we could see a fire truck outside and we just braced ourselves," Auffrey said.
"As soon as we made a safe landing, everyone started to clap. It was safely done and we were all happy to get off the plane."
An Air Canada spokesperson told CTV News that while the plane had safely landed early Sunday morning, staff would be inspecting the aircraft.
With files from CP24
