Smoke pours from engines of Calm Air flight in Thompson

Passengers on a Calm Air flight from Thompson had a scare Monday.

Shortly after 1 p.m., passengers said the plane was taxiing down the runway when black smoke began billowing from the engines on both sides of the plane.

Flight 503 was supposed to be on its way to Gillam after initially departing from Winnipeg early this morning.

Passengers say the plane was evacuated on the tarmac in Thompson and they made their way back to the terminal without their luggage.

The Thompson Regional Airport Authority and Calm Air president Gary Bell confirmed an emergency was declared on the flight over engine trouble.

The Transportation Safety Board is investigating the incident.

Last year, a Keystone Air Service plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Thompson.

In that case, the TSB found the incident was the result of the wrong fuel being put in the plane.

Thompson Airport CEO Curtis Ross dismissed the possibility that the engine troubles on Monday were caused by the same issue, saying it was "highly unlikely."