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Ten people were injured Thursday when an Air Canada plane plunged and swerved suddenly after experiencing «control problems,» and was forced to make an emergency landing at the Calgary International Airport.

Passengers said at least one person was thrown across seats and dishes went sailing through the plane's cabin before the aircraft was able to safely touchdown.

Calgary Emergency Medical Services said that of the 10 people hospitalized, six were considered seriously injured «yellow» or «spine» patients.

They were taken off the Airbus A-319 passenger jet on long spine boards or stretchers.

«They are all stable. . . . No life-threatening injuries have been identified,» said Dr. Rob Abernathy of the Calgary Health Region.

«Most injuries were minor,» said Calgary EMS official Stuart Brideaux. «Most people were able to walk off the plane on their own.»

An Air Canada spokesman later said two members of the flight crew were among those who had been taken to hospital.

All but one of the patients had been released Thursday evening, and the last person was expected to leave hospital shortly.

The flight, which was en route from Victoria to Toronto, experienced «control problems» while in «level flight at 35,000 feet,» said John Cottreau, a spokesman for the Transportation Safety Board.

«The captain declared an emergency,» he said.

Passengers were told computers were knocked down and pilots were going to land the plane manually.

Bryce Paton, a spokesman for the Calgary International Airport, said the airport learned at 8 a.m. local time that the plane, Air Canada flight 190, would be making an emergency landing.

«It landed safely at 8:30 a.m.,» he said. «It taxied to the terminal on its own power, where it met with emergency crews.»

The flight was carrying 83 passengers and five crew members.

«I can't speculate on what the cause was, whether it was turbulence or otherwise,» said Air Canada spokesman Duncan Dee.

«All I can say is that as soon as the incident took place, the employees involved took the decision to divert the plane to Calgary,» he said. «There will not only be an internal investigation but a governmental investigation to determine the cause.»

After the rough ride, one flight attendant was bleeding from the face while still trying to help injured passengers, said passenger Jayne Harvey.

Ms. Harvey, a registered nurse, was headed home to the Toronto area from Victoria.

She said a woman in front of her was thrown across two seats into a woman sitting by the window. She appeared to sustain a fractured collarbone, said Ms. Harvey.

Ms. Harvey said she got some ice for the injured passengers.

«I was thankful . . . that I had something to do, something to focus on. At that point, you just don't know.»

One passenger, who said a friend was hurt, reported the aircraft «went up and then sideways. She flew up to the ceiling and right down.»

Ms. Harvey said she was overwhelmed by the screaming.

«You can go see a horror film, but you're going to hear it (the screaming) the same way.»

Andrew Evans, who was flying from Victoria to Washington, D.C., said the plane hit turbulence 20 minutes out of Victoria, just as flight attendants were serving breakfast.

«All of a sudden, there was a big whoomph and bump, bump,» he said. «I watched the plates fly through the air.»

Mr. Evans, who was sitting in the front of the plane, heard people squealing behind him. He threw up his arms to protect his head as plates flew through the air. A food cart hit the roof.

«Then it was over so quickly.»

Mr. Evans praised the flight attendants, who he said had checked the condition of passengers within minutes.

The U.S. firm FlightAware, which tracks commercial flights, reported radar showed the aircraft bouncing up and down between various altitudes starting about 20 minutes after takeoff -- probably in an attempt to evade turbulence

«I have no idea what was going on in the flight deck, but they moved from 35 to 36 to 37 before leveling out at 31,000 feet for about 20 minutes,» said Daniel Baker, CEO of FlightAware.

«It looked like they were searching for smooth air. Either they had it for a while at 31,000 feet or they decided they weren't going to find it and started making their descent to land.»

Mr. Baker said the altitude shifts didn't look «extreme» on radar, but would have felt quite different to passengers not wearing seatbelts.

«If you're not wearing a belt, even a 40-foot drop can cause an injury,» he said.

The flight was met by 22 Calgary fire trucks and more than 10 ambulance units.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada also dispatched investigators to the scene.

«We've deployed two investigators from our Edmonton regional office who are going to do an assessment,» Transportation Safety Board spokesman John Cottreau said. «It's way early, way, way early to tell what the cause was.»

He said the investigators will work on a preliminary report to decide if a full investigation needs to be launched. They will be looking at air traffic control tapes and downloading the flight data recorder and cockpit recorders or black boxes.

«A decision will be made to fully investigate or not, then our guys will continue their data gathering,» Mr. Cottreau said. «It could take weeks or months to do another analysis, then another couple of weeks or months to do report writing. It's a long process.»

Mr. Cottreau cited the 1998 Swiss Air crash near Nova Scotia as an example of how long the «legally mandated» investigation can take. A final report of findings was not released until 2003.

But he added, that does not mean that recommendations on airline, plane or airport safety cannot be made in the process.

«Two months out of the gate (on the Swiss Air investigation), we were making significant recommendations to Transport Canada and world aviation regulators,» Mr. Cottreau said. «As soon as we research and validate a safety deficiency, we'll release the information.»

This is the second major emergency landing situation in the last six months.

In September, a WestJet flight heading to Halifax ran into turbulence and injured nine passengers, sending three to hospital.

Family members of passengers on Thursday's Air Canada flight who are seeking more information are asked to call the Air Canada hotline 1-800-961-7099.