Photo: First Air lands on one engine

A First Air worker opens the cowling on the port engine of a Boeing 737 combi jet that was forced to return to Rankin Inlet just before 3:00 p.m. Aug. 24 to do a landing with one engine. Flight 955 departed Rankin at around 14:30 Aug. 24, carrying 26 passengers and four crew bound for Iqaluit, Robert Janes of Rankin Inlet told Nunatsiaq News in an email. But around 20 minutes northeast of Rankin, the pilot declared an engine problem and radioed flight services in Rankin. The plane landed safely on the runway, then taxied to the ramp and parked. After that, workers pulled off the cowling on the port engine. Observers could hear loud backfiring coming from the plane but it was unclear if that was from the engines or from the auxiliary power unit. The Rankin Inlet fire department and health centre staff were ready to step in, if needed. (PHOTO COURTESY OF ROBERT JANES)