Photo: Contributed - Anonymous

The Air Canada flight shortly after landing

A flight from Castlegar bound for Vancouver was forced to make an emergency landing in Kelowna Thursday evening due to a cracked windshield.

‎Airport Marketing & Media Relations Manager at Kelowna International Airport, Jenelle Hynes, says there were a few tense moments for passengers but everything went smoothly.

“The flight crew alerted the tower they were coming in because of a cracked windshield so our emergency crews immediately went on standby. Our aircraft rescue firefighters, as well as the Kelowna Fire Department, BC Ambulance, RCMP and Ellison Fire Department all came out to be on the emergency standby.”

There were 38 people on board the Air Canada Jazz aircraft. It landed safely and all passengers were fine, however some were visibly frustrated over the delay.

Shortly after landing Air Canada sent another flight into Kelowna to take those passengers from Castlegar to their destination, a move that impressed Hynes.

“It was really gracious of the Air Canada folks to bring in another plane, rather than just rebooking those passengers on other flights out to Vancouver later on that evening. They actually brought in a plane specifically for those passengers and got them to Vancouver.”

According to a witness on the tarmac who asked to remain anonymous, the pilots reporting some sore ears but otherwise everyone was ok.

There is no indication yet as to what caused the crack in the windshield.