OMAHA, Neb. (KABC) — A SkyWest flight bound for Los Angeles International Airport turned around in the air soon after takeoff Monday and returned to a Nebraska airport after the plane’s interphone system malfunctioned, leading to confusion onboard the aircraft, officials said.
Video recorded by a passenger shows police vehicles on that tarmac at Omaha’s Eppley Airfield. Officers boarded the plane after Flight 6569 made an emergency landing.
The plane had traveled only 40 miles into the 1,300-mile journey before it turned back, according to an online flight tracker.
Shortly after takeoff, the pilots in the cockpit lost contact with their flight crew in the cabin. Passengers saw the crew, unable to communicate with the pilots, banging on the door of the cockpit.
The pilots, hearing banging on the door — and silence on the interphone — mistakenly thought someone was trying to breach the cockpit. They declared an emergency and returned the flight to Omaha.
In an announcement to the passengers after landing, the captain of the plane apologized for the unexpected return to flight’s airport of origin.
“We weren’t sure if something was going on with the airplane, so that’s why we’re coming back here,” the captain said. “It’s gonna be a little bit. We have to figure out what’s going on.”
The Federal Aviation Administration released a statement after the incident.
“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 said. “After landing, it was determined there was a problem with the inter-phone system and the flight crew was knocking on the cockpit door.”
