An American Airlines flight made an emergency landing shortly after take-off in Nebraska after the pilots heard banging on the cockpit door. The pilots took the decision to make an emergency landing, fearing that someone was trying to break into the cockpit and hijack the plane. However, contrary to the pilots' assumption, it was flight attendants banging on the cockpit door.
The incident reportedly took place on 20 October, when American Airlines Flight 6469 to Los Angeles took a U-turn within 10 minutes of take-off and returned to Omaha Airport. According to reports, the plane was only 40 miles into the 1,300-mile journey when the chaos ensued.
The incident took place after the flight crew lost contact with the pilots because of a glitch with the intercom, a spokesperson for the airline said, according to the New York Post. The pilots heard a static sound over the intercom and assumed that someone was trying to hijack the plane. However, it was actually the flight attendants pounding on the cockpit door.
The pilots promptly turned the plane, an Embraer ERJ 175, around and made the emergency landing. It is operated by SkyWest.
"SkyWest Flight 6569 landed safely after returning to Eppley Airfield in Omaha, Nebraska, around 7:45 p.m. local time on Monday, 20 Oct., after declaring an emergency when the pilot could not contact the cabin crew," the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. "After landing, it was determined there was a problem with the inter-phone system and the flight crew was knocking on the cockpit door."
A video recorded by passengers showed law enforcement boarding the aircraft moments after it landed.
After the misunderstanding was cleared up, the captain apologised to passengers. "We weren't sure if something was going on with the aeroplane, so that's why we're coming back here," the captain said over the intercom, according to passengers. "It's going to be a little bit. We have to figure out what's going on."
