SYRACUSE -- Officials responded to a report of an incident on an airplane at Syracuse Hancock International Airport just before 8:00 a.m. Friday.

According to Aviation Commissioner Christina Reale an Air Canada Beech 1900 airplane was scheduled to fly from Syracuse to Toronto when a battery-operated smoke detector went off shortly after departure.

The pilot declared an emergency and returned to Syracuse where four passengers, the pilot, and the co-pilot were taken off the plane while firefighters investigated, says Reale.

The incident is under investigation and the flight is expected to depart once it has been cleared.