A Piedmont Airlines flight en route to Charlotte made an unexpected detour to Richmond, Virginia, yesterday, due to a possible maintenance issue. Flight 5852 landed at Richmond International Airport without incident, a spokesperson for the airline confirmed.

The aircraft, which originated from Newport News, Virginia, was greeted by emergency services upon its safe arrival. As reported by WCNC , the flight was then taken out of service for a thorough inspection by maintenance teams. The nature of the mechanical concern was not immediately disclosed to the public.

In a separate but resonant incident, an American Airlines flight bound for Charlotte also had to execute an emergency landing in Virginia. The Embraer E145 pilot diverted to Richmond International Airport where, the airline confirmed, that none of the 47 passengers or three crew members were injured. "We never want to disrupt our customers’ travel plans, and we apologize for the inconvenience," American Airlines said in a statement obtained by WSOCTV .

This series of aviation diversions comes amid heightened sensitivity surrounding airline safety. The recent collision over the Potomac River between American Airlines Flight 5342 from Wichita, Kansas, and an Army Black Hawk helicopter has left the flying public uneasy. According to a report by The Charlotte Observer , that tragedy resulted in the deaths of all 60 passengers and the Charlotte-based crew aboard the commercial plane, plus three occupants of the military helicopter. Investigations into the root cause of both this catastrophic accident and the maintenance issues leading to the aforementioned emergency landings are ongoing.