OTTAWA—A United Express plane carrying 44 people skidded off the runway on Sunday at Ottawa's international airport.
Emergency and airport officials said all the passengers travelling from Chicago got off the plane safely and were taken into the terminal on city buses.
“No injuries, everybody is absolutely fine,” said Krista Kealey, the director of communications at the Ottawa airport.
Marc Messier, a spokesman for the Ottawa fire service, said the Embraer 145 suffered some damage to the undercarriage and a wing causing a substantial fuel leak. He said city fire crews assisted airport firefighters in controlling the fuel spill.
The plane was completely sitting on a grassy area surrounded by emergency vehicles. The plane appeared to be tipping up with the rear of the plane stuck in the grass and the nose elevated higher than normal.
One frightened passenger who tweeted from the plane said people were screaming as the plane skidded and a wing went into the dirt.
It's not the first time a United plane has skidded off the runway in Ottawa.
In June, 2010 a United Express Embraer 145 with 36 people aboard went off the runway. Three people were taken to hospital.
The Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the accident.
The TSB said in a release that the plane was operated by Trans States Airlines as United Flight 3363.
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