All 44 passengers are safe after an American passenger plane went off the runway at Ottawa International Airport, officials say.

Marc Messier, an official with Ottawa Fire Services, tweeted late Sunday afternoon that the passengers on United Express flight 3363 were safe and on a city bus.

"No injuries, everybody is absolutely fine," said Krista Kealey, director of communications for the airport.

The plane, which had arrived from Chicago, appeared to have suffered damage to a wing, the CBC's Alistair Steele reported.

A passenger tweeted that people screamed as the plane skidded and a wing went into the dirt beside the runway.

Fire crews were controlling a fuel leak, and hazardous material crews were dispatched, Messier said.

The crew reported damage to the undercarriage, he said.

It's not the first time a United plane has skidded off the runway in Ottawa.

In June 2010, a United Express Brazilian-built Embraer 145 with 36 people aboard went off the runway. Three people were taken to hospital.