Hay River (Mar 20/06) - A plane heading to Yellowknife from Hay River was forced to turn around after trouble was reported with one of its two engines, March 11.

Hay River Airport manager Kelly O'Connor says his understanding is the pilot of the DC-3 declared an emergency about 30km from Hay River while under control of air traffic control in Edmonton.

However, Joe McBryan, the president of Buffalo Airways, does not describe the pilot's decision to return the DC-3 to Hay River as an emergency.

"It was precautionary," McBryan says.

The problem was a stuck valve in one of the plane's two engines, he says. "It made it run rough."

McBryan says the problem was not an engine failure. Instead, he says the pilot put the engine into neutral.

"But if you need the engine, it's there," he says. "You haven't lost the engine."

There were seven passengers and two crew on the plane.

McBryan says the people aboard the plane were in no danger during the incident. "One of them was my mother and she wasn't worried," he said.

Back in 10 minutes

O'Connor says the plane was back at the Hay River Airport in about 10 minutes.

"It was a safe, uneventful landing," he says.

O'Connor says a precautionary shutdown of the engine in such a situation makes sense to him.

Police were on the scene when the plane landed. Because the plane landed so quickly, the fire department and ambulance were still on the way, and were asked to stand down.

McBryan notes DC-3 aircraft, which have been flying for over 40 years, have an unsurpassed safety record.