It was a brief but gut-churning few seconds for the 44 passengers and crew on United Express Flight 3363, which skidded off the runway at Ottawa International Airport on Sunday afternoon.

No one was injured in the accident, but people aboard the plane said passengers screamed as it veered sideways, clipped a wing, spun around and then settled in the grass next to a runway.

The plane's rear landing gear buckled in the incident, causing its bottom to scrape along the ground as it decelerated.

"At that point we were on the belly of the plane with the wing digging into the grass, and the mud was spraying up onto our window. Twenty to 30 feet after that it came to a stop," passenger Peter Andree said.

The aircraft finally came to a rest listing to its right side, and started spilling fuel onto the grass.

Andree said most passengers were calm, but a few were hysterical. Another passenger tweeted that some travellers were screaming as the plane slid.

Firefighters contained the fuel leak before it could pose a danger, Ottawa Fire Services said in a statement.

It took a while before the passengers were told what was happening and were allowed to leave the cabin.

"There was a lot of confusion at the airport until the general manager came in about what do to with us, where to take us, how to handle us," Andree said.

Rain on runway likely played role

Federal aviation investigators are looking into the incident. The Chicago to Ottawa flight was operated by Missouri-based Trans States Airlines, a carrier with a history at Ottawa airport. Last year, another of its Embraer ERJ-145 planes overran the runway, injuring three people.

The airline would not speculate as to the cause of Sunday's accident, but passengers said it might have something to do with the heavy rains that began pounding the airport as the plane was touching down.

"When we were coming in, I could see there was rain in front of us. And just as we hit the runway, we ran into the rain," said Jim Patterson, who was flying home with his wife from a one-week vacation at Yellowstone National Park in the northern United States.

"He wasn't slowing down fast enough. Then I could see the side of the runway was getting close."

Passengers said it felt like the pilot accelerated, suggesting the aircraft might have hydroplaned along the runway in the rain and then been buffeted by a crosswind.

The commuter jet will probably be removed from its resting spot in the grass by the end of Monday, though the Transportation Safety Board has the final say. Until then, the airport is operating with one runway, though it said there shouldn't be any delays.