After Tuesday night's nail-biter on the Liberal leader's plane, which made an unscheduled landing in Montreal after an on-board generator failed, it was the Bloc leader's turn for some landing strip drama on Wednesday night.

Gilles Duceppe's Convair 580 turboprop required two tries to land at Bonaventure Airport on the southern Gaspe coast after a short hop from Baie-Comeau.

There was a tense moment on board as the plane rocked back and forth as it hit heavy turbulence during final descent. At the last minute, about 500 feet from the tarmac, the pilot suddenly gunned the twin engines of the craft, veering back up into the sky, before turning the plane back in the direction of the runway.

He later explained that tailwinds of about 20 knots prevented him from landing the plane on his first try.

Duceppe, seated alone near the front of the cabin, appeared unfazed after the successful landing.

He joked it was a good thing a certain member of his Bloc caucus (who will remain nameless in this Byte) hadn't been on board. Chuckling, Duceppe demonstrated how his colleague crouches and covers his eyes even for perfect landings.

—Tim Duboyce