Air Canada ‘in-flight emergency’ diverts Boeing 737

An Air Canada flight made an emergency landing Tuesday morning in the U.S.

Air Canada Flight 997 “declared an in-flight emergency and made an unscheduled landing at the Boise Airport” on Tuesday morning, airport officials posted on Facebook.

“Though trained emergency personnel are on scene, there are no reported injuries,” the Boise Airport (Idaho) post read.

A warning light reportedly went on and the pilots made the stop as a precautionary measure. The issue was determined to be a faulty cargo hold indicator, according to news reports.

The Boeing 737 MAX 8 took off from Mexico City at 6:24 a.m. and was bound for Vancouver when it was diverted to Boise, Idaho, according to FlightAware. It landed just before 11 a.m.

FlightAware tracking shows the route of the Air Canada flight.

Boise Airport staff assisted passengers and coordinated with customs and border patrol officials to ensure proper entry to the United States for all passengers.

The 122 passengers and six crew members were to take a different plane to Vancouver.

Boise Airport, which doesn’t normally host Air Canada flights, said there was no impact to airport operations and all runways remained open.

This flight issue follows other recent incidents on Boeing aircraft.

In October, an Air Canada Boeing 737 Max flying from Mexico City to Pearson Airport in Mississauga made an emergency landing in Houston.

In January, U.S. officials grounded some Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliners for inspections after an Alaska Airlines plane suffered a blowout that left a gaping hole in the side of the fuselage.

On Sunday (April 7), an engine cover reportedly fell off a Southwest Airlines, Boeing 737-800 flight bound for Houston from Denver. It returned safely to Denver.

The incident in Boise also drew some comments from U.S. residents who compared Canadians’ treatment to Mexicans entering the country.

“Why weren’t they treated like the illegals crossing the southern border?” one person questioned.

“Boise airport wouldn’t be calling in border patrol for a bunch of Canadians,” another person wrote.

But another person said they were in the airport and border patrol was at the airport.

Lead photo: Boise Airport