NUNAVUT - A Calm Air flight to Whale Cove was forced to return to Churchill after oil began leaking from the engine after takeoff, according to Calm Air's vice president of operations Bob Backhouse.

Backhouse said a dipstick had not been correctly secured before taking off from the Churchill airport.

"The dipstick wasn't entirely fastened to its locked position," Backhouse said.

Backhouse said the airplane had flown from Winnipeg to Churchill where it stopped and a maintenance crew checked the oil.

"The maintenance does a quick line check on the airplane when it lands in Churchill. They checked the oils," he said. "Not unlike your car, there's sort of a dipstick and the dipstick on the flight on route came out slightly and that caused some oil to leak from the engine," he said.

"So as a precaution the crew returned to Churchill and rechecked the oils."

The flight was on its way from Churchill on its normal flight route to Whale Cove, Rankin Inlet, Coral Harbour and Repulse Bay when the incident occurred.

Backhouse said one passenger on the plane was given a free meal voucher because of the delay.