American AA6010 Lands Safely at Bradley After the Crew Reports a Possible Engine Issue

American Airlines regional flight AA6010 from Philadelphia landed safely at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, around 10 a.m. on Friday, October 23, 2026, after its crew reported a possible engine issue. The FAA said it will investigate.

The Embraer ERJ 145 regional jet was operated by Piedmont Airlines for American and carried 46 passengers and three crew members, according to Piedmont. The airline said no injuries were reported.

What happened on the flight

In a statement quoted by WFSB, the FAA said Piedmont Airlines Flight 6010 landed safely after the crew reported a possible engine issue. The agency identified the aircraft as an Embraer ERJ 145 that had departed Philadelphia International Airport.

The Connecticut Airport Authority described it as a mechanical issue reported while the jet was en route, and confirmed the landing, according to WTNH. Passengers left the aircraft normally at the gate.

Piedmont said it was “gathering information” and working with its flight operations and maintenance teams to understand what happened. Neither the airline nor the FAA has said what the engine issue was, or whether an engine was shut down in flight.

It is also not on record whether the crew formally declared an emergency. NBC Connecticut called it an emergency landing, while the official statements describe a safe landing after a reported issue.

The jet and its route

Tracking data on FlightAware and FlightStats shows the flight was flown by ERJ 145 registration N653AE under Piedmont’s PDT6010 callsign. It pushed back from Philadelphia at 8:49 a.m. Eastern time, took off at 9:20 a.m. and climbed to about 19,000 feet for the short hop northeast.

The same data shows the jet staying on its route to Connecticut rather than turning back, touching down at Bradley at about 10:01 a.m. and reaching the gate at 10:17 a.m. The two airports are roughly 195 miles (315 km) apart in a straight line.

FAA registry records list N653AE as a 2001 Embraer EMB-145LR owned by American Airlines, powered by two Rolls-Royce AE 3007A1P turbofans. The flight was also sold as an Alaska Airlines codeshare.

Piedmont is a wholly owned subsidiary of American Airlines Group and says it runs nearly 400 daily departures to more than 55 cities in the eastern United States, including Bradley International Airport.

What the rules say about an engine problem

For an airline twinjet, the deciding question is whether an engine actually fails or is shut down. Under the FAA’s airline operating rules, 14 CFR 121.565, the captain must then land at the nearest suitable airport in point of time.

Only aircraft with three or more engines may press on to an airport of the captain’s choosing after losing one. A crew must also report every in-flight engine shutdown to the appropriate air traffic facility and keep it informed as the flight continues.

A “possible engine issue” is not the same thing as an engine failure. The phrase can describe anything from an abnormal reading on the cockpit engine instruments to a confirmed shutdown, and which one AA6010’s crew faced has not been disclosed.

The FAA’s statement said only that the agency will investigate. It did not name a cause, and Piedmont has not published one either.

In an unrelated August event, a different American Eagle regional jet flown by PSA Airlines diverted to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, after its crew reported smoke in the cockpit.