Passengers forced off plane after smoke spotted at Montreal airport

Passengers on a plane about to take off at Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport were forced off their aircraft after smoke was spotted coming from a piece of equipment near a gate.

Montreal airport (ADM) spokesperson Eric Forest said it was a “minor incident” after smoke was reported in a preconditioned air unit (PCA) used to send air onto the plane while it's parked.

“As a precautionary measure, our security measures were activated,” said Forest. “The aircraft's passengers were evacuated, moved to another gate.”

No flames were spotted and the fire service unit responded and took control of the matter.

Air Canada Flight 1000 was set to leave Montreal for Fort Lauderdale at 6:45 a.m.

Fort Lauderdale resident Don Tyson was in Montreal on business and one of those moved from gate 75 to 83 to reboard the plane.

“With ice and snow on the windows it was hard to tell what was happening,” he said. “It was pretty dramatic there for a minute."

Tyson said two police officers boarded the plane and spoke to the pilots in the cockpit. The captain then told the passengers to leave their bags where they were and exit the aircraft.

“There was no panic, and it seemed like most people followed the instructions right away, but there were a few who were reaching for bags etc, in the overhead bins,” said Tyson. "None of us really knew what the issue was until we got back to the gate area and could see out the windows."

There were no injuries and the plane took off without incident, Forest said.