2011-09-05 10:16

Workers take photographs of a United Express plane after it skidded off the runway at the Ottawa International Airport Sept 4, 2011. The Embraer ERJ 145 plane carrying 44 passengers from Chicago skidded off the runway while landing in Ottawa, although there appeared to be no injuries, a fire department official said on Sunday. [Photo/Agencies]

TORONTO - A United Express regional jet carrying 44 passengers from Chicago skidded off the runway while landing in Ottawa on Sunday afternoon, but no one was apparently injured, authorities said.

All the passengers and crew members from United Express Flight 3363 left the plane and were taken to the airport terminal on a city bus, said Marc Messier, a spokesman for Ottawa Fire Services.

"When we arrived, they were pretty much all off the plane," he said, adding that none of the passengers immediately requested medical attention.

Emergency crews sprayed foam on a large amount of fuel that had leaked from the plane, an Embraer ERJ 145, he said.

A Reuters photographer at the airport said the plane, still surrounded by emergency vehicles, was sitting off the runway and appeared to have a damaged right wing.

Trans States Airlines, the operating carrier of the flight, said in a statement that it "cannot speculate as to the cause of the incident," but would provide more information as it becomes available.

The company also said it would be involved in the investigation, which is being led by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.

United Express flights are operated by various regional carriers working with United Continental Holdings.