On November 26, 2025, an American Eagle flight was forced to perform an evacuation before its takeoff at Philadelphia International Airport. As reported by NBC Philadelphia, the aircraft was a Bombardier CRJ-900 regional jet operating for American Eagle and was taxiing for its departure to Savannah when a mechanical issue led the crew to perform an evacuation.

All passengers and crew disembarked the aircraft safely and were later reaccommodated onto a replacement aircraft. The aircraft involved was sent into maintenance. While the incident led to no injuries, it comes just a few weeks after the fatal crash of a UPS Airlines cargo plane, which is believed to have been caused by a mechanical failure. Naturally, some passengers are on edge, including some on board this flight.

An Evacuation At Philadelphia International Airport

American Eagle flight AA5671 is a daily flight between Philadelphia International Airport and Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport in Georgia. On November 26, the flight was being operated by N603NN, a six-year-old Bombardier CRJ-900 operated by PSA Airlines, configured to seat a maximum of 76 passengers. The flight was scheduled to depart at 6:44 pm for an arrival at 8:52 pm, but the aircraft was severely delayed on its previous flight.

Reportedly, AA5671 wouldn’t begin taxiing until roughly 10 pm. It was headed to Philadelphia’s Runway 27L when smoke began filling the cabin. This was detected by passengers and the flight crew, who then stopped the aircraft on the taxiway and subsequently ordered an evacuation. All occupants safely disembarked the aircraft.

Simple Flying reached out to American Airlines for more information regarding the incident and was provided with the statement below:

Statement:

American Eagle flight 5671, operated by PSA Airlines, experienced a mechanical issue prior to departure at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL). All customers and crew deplaned, and the aircraft was taken out of service to be inspected by our maintenance team. We thank our team members for their professionalism and apologize to our customers for their experience.

Additional information:

-Flight 5671 was scheduled to operate from PHL to Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport (SAV).

-Customers departed for SAV on a replacement aircraft.

The Aftermath And Possible Cause

There were no reported injuries from any of the occupants. American Airlines sourced a replacement aircraft (likely another CRJ-900), but the flight did not depart until 9:52 am on the following day, November 27. It landed at 11:52 am after a two-hour flight, totalling a 15-hour delay. Passengers likely had to be compensated for the delay.

N603NN was taken into maintenance after the evacuation. While it’s unclear what the mechanical issue was, data from Flightradar24 shows that the aircraft remained on the ground at Philadelphia International Airporton November 27. While future aircraft assignments are always subject to change, data shows that it’s scheduled to reenter service on November 28.

American Airlines has not confirmed what the mechanical issue was, but the presence of smoke indicates the possibility of a fire. However, there was no visible fire damage, and it would appear that the plane only required quick repairs. The smoke may have been indicative of a potential fire that did not spread.

The Impact On Passengers From UPS 2976

The fatal crash of UPS Airlines 2976 has set some passengers on edge. The accident is believed to have been caused by the left engine and pylon assembly detaching from the wing. While it’s unknown why the engine detached from the wing, the image of an engine flipping over an aircraft’s wing and the MD-11 rolling into a dive while on fire has sparked anxiety among some travelers.

Some passengers on AA5671 have directly reported being uncomfortable after the evacuation, with the memory of the UPS 2976 crash still fresh. However, airliners are ultimately complex machines that can have mechanical faults. American Airlines is one of the world’s largest airlines and has a world-class maintenance program. Ultimately, the procedures that were followed ensured that this maintenance fault resulted in nothing more than a delay and an aircraft temporarily out of service.