Yellowknife (May 26/06) - Everything seemed normal on May 12 as Canadian North flight 463 prepared to take off from the Edmonton Airport en route to Hay River and Yellowknife.

But as the F28 plane gathered enough speed to begin its ascend, passengers suddenly heard a loud bang.

Looking out the side window, Rae-Edzo resident Tony Rabesca saw something move underneath one of the wings.

"I felt something was wrong," said Rabesca.

Shortly thereafter, Rabesca said the pilot announced that there was tire debris on the runway, and that it might be from the plane.

The pilot told the passengers that the plane would circle the Edmonton airport twice to see if someone on the ground could confirm if there was an issue with the landing gear.

If there was a problem, passengers were asked to prepare for an emergency landing at the Calgary airport.

Rabesca said people around him were "shook up."

"The lady behind me said she was prepared for anything," he said.

For the next 30 minutes, Rabesca described the atmosphere as "eerily quiet."

"We were scared. We didn't know what to expect," he said. "All we could do was pray."

As the plane began its descent in Calgary, Rabesca said it felt surreal and "just like a movie."

Despite the passengers' nervousness, the plane was able to land smoothly to be welcomed by several fire trucks and RCMP vehicles, said Rabesca.

"One of the inner tire's treads came loose," said Canadian North vice-president of marketing and sales, Kelly Kaylo. She said the entire tread eventually fell off the plane.

The reason the plane opted to land in Calgary was because there were spare parts available at the airport.

Kaylo said tire problems are not common for Canadian North and its safety record exceeds the standards enforced, with pilots and flight crews receiving specific training for situations like this one.

The plane's tire was replaced and it was back in service the next week, she said. Kaylo could not say how many passengers were on the plane.

All passengers were accommodated on other flights that day, said Kaylo.

Rabesca said the day was a long ordeal for many. He arrived in Hay River at around 8:30 p.m. - more than eight hours after he first got on the plane in Edmonton.

Some who were flying to Yellowknife from Hay River opted to take the bus instead, said Rabesca.