PSA CRJ7 at Washington on Aug 17th 2026, smoke in cockpit, pressurization issues

Last Update: August 18, 2026 / 17:23:43 GMT/Zulu time

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Incident Facts

Date of incident
Aug 17, 2026

Classification
Incident

Airline
PSA Airlines

Flight number
AA-5501

Departure
Washington National, United States

Destination
Albany, United States

Aircraft Registration
N530EA

Aircraft Type
Canadair CRJ-700

ICAO Type Designator
CRJ7

A PSA Airlines Canadair CRJ-700 on behalf of American Airlines, registration N530EA performing flight AA-5501 from Washington National,DC to Albany,NY (USA) with 63 passengers and 4 crew, was climbing through about FL240 out of Washington when the crew declared emergency, initiated an emergency descent to 10,000 feet and reported smoke in the cockpit. The aircraft diverted to Middletown,PA (USA) for a safe landing on runway 31 about 35 minutes after stopping the climb.

The FAA reported: "AIRCRAFT DECLARED AN EMERGENCY DUE TO PRESSURIZATION AND SMOKE IN THE COCKPIT, DIVERTED TO MDT, HARRISBURG, PA."

A replacement CRJ-900 registration N649NN reached Albany with a delay of about 16.5 hours.

The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Middletown/Harrisburgh about 17 hours after landing.
Aircraft Registration Data
Registration mark
N530EA
Country of Registration
United States
Date of Registration
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Manufacturer
BOMBARDIER INC
Aircraft Model / Type
CL-600-2C10
Number of Seats
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ICAO Aircraft Type
CRJ7
Year of Manufacture
HbAk Subscribe to unlock
Serial Number
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Aircraft Address / Mode S Code (HEX)
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Engine Count
G Subscribe to unlock
Engine Manufacturer
Kb Subscribe to unlock
Engine Model
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Engine Type
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Pounds of Thrust
Cf bA Subscribe to unlock
Main Owner
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Incident Facts

Date of incident
Aug 17, 2026

Classification
Incident

Airline
PSA Airlines

Flight number
AA-5501

Departure
Washington National, United States

Destination
Albany, United States

Aircraft Registration
N530EA

Aircraft Type
Canadair CRJ-700

ICAO Type Designator
CRJ7

This article is published under license from Avherald.com. © of text by Avherald.com.
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