A n emergency landing of an aircraft is in and of itself a rare occurrence — but two separate emergency landings occurred within ten minutes at the same airport by the same airline on Friday, April 29, 2016.
Two Separate Emergency Landings Within Ten Minutes at the Same Airport
One emergency landing conducted by the pilots of an Embraer ERJ-145 aircraft — carrying 50 passengers and four members of the flight crew from Richmond — operating as American Eagle flight 4801 by Piedmont Air occurred at Philadelphia International Airport at approximately 8:18 in the morning when smoke was filling the cockpit of the aircraft and oxygen masks were deployed in the main cabin. After an abrupt landing, passengers climbed out of the wings and were greeted by firefighters and emergency personnel. One person was treated for minor smoke inhalation; but otherwise there were no reported injuries or fatalities.
In the other incident, the pilots of an Embraer E170 aircraft — carrying 76 passengers from Toronto which operated as American Eagle flight 4518 by Republic Airlines — had reported steering problems and also experienced an emergency landing. The pilot was able to resolve the problem; the passengers departed from the airplane without incident and were taxied to the terminal; and the landing did not require any emergency activity.
The following statement was released from the Federal Aviation Administration of the United States:
The Federal Aviation Administration will be investigating two emergency landings at Philadelphia International Airport that occurred shortly after 8 am today. Republic Airlines 4518, an Embraer E170 aircraft landed on Runway 9 Right after reporting steering problems. Piedmont Airlines 4801, an Embraer E145 aircraft reported smoke in the cockpit and cabin. Passengers evacuated the aircraft on Runway 9 Left via slides. The airport advises that Runway 9 Right reopened as of 8:54 am and Runway 9Left reopened as of 9:17 am. Please contact the airlines for information about passengers. Please contact the airport for information on the emergency response.
Summary
Philadelphia International Airport experienced a brief ground stop as operations at the airport were temporarily closed as crews worked to clear the scene. One runway of the airport had opened to airplane traffic once again shortly after 9:00 in the morning, with a warning to passengers to expect residual delays. Flights were reportedly delayed by greater than an hour throughout the morning.
The information in this article was compiled from multiple sources.
