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The packed Icelandair flight from Orlando, US to Reykjavík in Iceland made a sudden U-turn overnight after a cockpit window smashed mid-air.

The pilot warned passengers to "prepare for landing" before carrying out a rapid descent and dropping 26,000ft in just 10 minutes.

Passengers were left "very visibly upset" as the plane diverted to a small airport in the Canadian city of Saguenay, Quebec.

After touching down safely emergency services then surrounded the aircraft as passengers were told for the first time what happened.

One passenger said: "Passengers were told to prepare for landing. Obviously people were concerned and anxious. Some very visibly upset.

"Flight crews could not or would not tell us any information. Pilot said cockpit window shattered."

(Image: FLIGHTRADAR24/WUFT NEWS)

(Image: WUFT NEWS)

The passenger added that the pilot said, after landing safely, that "we had to go down immediately".

Despite the sharp descent – recorded by flight tracker site RadarBox24 – it is reported the cabin did not depressurise.

Another passenger on the flight said an Icelandair mechanic sat in front of them said the crack in the cockpit window measured 20cm.

(Image: WUFT NEWS) (Image: TWITTER/HARRISON HOVE/WUFT NEWS)

They said: "An icelandair mechanic sitting in front of me says the shatter was “spectacular.” Prob meant significant?

"He was brought to cockpit and said the shattering was significant, main crack estimated at 20cm."

Passengers were forced to stay on the plane after landing at Saguenay Bagotville Airport as it has no passenger control.

One traveller said "it is too small to handle this size of plane/number of passengers" and so people had to wait for customs officers to board the plane and clear them.

(Image: TWITTER/CHARLIE LOVE) (Image: FLIGHTRADAR24)

After finally being cleared all the travellers were pictured cramped into the terminal to pick up their luggage before being transfered to hotels.

The Boeing 757 plane had departed Orlando at 7.11pm local time last night (12.11am Saturday UK) before making the emergency u-turn nearly three hours into the flight.

It landed at 10.18pm local time (3.18am UK) before passengers arrived at their overnight accomodation – provided by the airline – several hours later.

Daily Star Online has contacted Icelandair for comment.