Plane Makes Emergency Landing at Philly International

A plane heading from Boston to Baltimore was forced to make an emergency landing at Philadelphia International Airport Sunday after the flight crew reported an odor of smoke in the cabin.

Jet Blue Airways Flight 827 landed in Philadelphia shortly before 6 p.m.

Philadelphia airport officials say the captain decided to make the emergency landing as a precaution. There were 95 passengers and four crew members on board, according to airport officials.

“In an abundance of caution, the captain elected to divert, after the crew reported an odor of smoke in the cabin. The flight landed at 5:53 p.m. and all customers and crew were safely evacuated with no injuries reported,” according to a statement released by the airline.

Laura Chase McGehee, who was on the plane, said most passengers remained calm after the flight attendant made the announcement over a loud speaker.

“We were just cruising along and then the flight attendant went on the loud speaker and said ‘do I smell smoke? Do I smell smoke in the cabin?’”, said McGehee. “People really kept their cool. Everyone really went into fight mode…everyone was fighters.”

Emergency crews surrounded the plane as passengers rushed off.

Former pilot Juan Maurtua and his son Jared rushed to the scene after hearing about the incident his scanner. He photographed the orderly evacuation.

“It’s frightening because as a pilot you want to make sure that everybody’s safe…that’s the number one priority,” said Juan Maurtua. “Flying is really safe, this rarely happens, we train for emergencies.

All passengers were booked on later flights, according to officials. The incident did not affect service on any other flights. 

Flight investigators are still checking out the plane that made the emergency landing.

Contact Us