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Air emergency ends well

Police and other emergency responders were briefly alerted last Tuesday (June 9) when an airplane reported engine trouble, but the incident ended safely.Sandspit airport manager Bob Ells said the plane was a Buffalo search and rescue from the military base at Comox. It had been in Sandspit for a couple of days and took off on Tuesday morning, headed back to Comox.But at some point after taking off, the plane declared an emergency, Mr. Ells said, saying it was experiencing engine failure. Mr. Ells immediately called out all emergency responders, including RCMP.Five to 10 minutes later, the plane reported that everything was under control and that the emergency response was not needed. Mr. Ells said the plane returned to Sandspit, stayed for a few more hours, then flew to Comox later that day.Mr. Ells said the incident was unusual, and ended up being a good test of how well the airport can respond to emergencies. Everything went smoothly, he said.