OTTAWA -- A young man aboard a small charter flight flying in northern Canada forced open the aircraft's door and leapt to his death, police said Thursday.

The accident happened Wednesday night as the plane was flying from Yellowknife, capital of Northwest Territories, to Cambridge Bay in Nunavut Territory, a spokesman of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said.

The man was apparently distressed before he leapt from the aircraft that was flying at an altitude of about 23,000 feet. 

The crew of the King Air 200 aircraft called in an emergency during the flight, reporting that one of the two passengers on board was being unruly. 

When police met the plane as it landed in Cambridge Bay, they learned that the 20-year-old man had opened the exit door and jumped out, despite efforts by the two pilots to stop the man from doing so. 

With the cabin breached mid-air, the pilots steered the plane to a safe landing in Cambridge Bay, police said.

An air search begun Thursday for the man's remains.