A Los Angeles-bound SkyWest flight had to make an emergency landing Monday night after the pilots heard banging on the cockpit door.
SkyWest Flight 6569 was 40 miles into its 1,300-mile journey when it had to turn around and return to Eppley Airfield in Omaha, Nebraska, according to ABC7. Shortly after taking off, the pilots lost contact with their flight crew,, which led to members of the crew knocking on the cockpit door in an attempt to get the pilots’ attention.
Hearing the banging and discovering the interphone system wasn’t working, the pilots incorrectly thought someone was attempting to breach the cockpit, which led to the captain declaring an emergency.
“We weren’t sure if something was going on with the airplane, so that’s why we’re coming back here,” the captain reportedly said after bringing the plane back to Omaha. “It’s gonna be a little bit. We have to figure out what’s going on.”
FAA confirms the cause of the incident
In an official statement, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the communications failure–and ensuing confusion regarding the knocking on the cockpit–led to the emergency.
“SkyWest Flight 6569 landed safely after returning to Eppley Airfield in Omaha, Nebraska, around 7:45 p.m. local time on Monday, Oct. 20, after declaring an emergency when the pilot could not contact the cabin crew,” the statement read. “After landing, it was determined there was a problem with the inter-phone system and the flight crew was knocking on the cockpit door.”
Once pilots were able to realize what had actually happened, the plane eventually took off for Los Angeles around 11 p.m., landing at its intended destination just after midnight.
