On Monday night (October 20th), a flight bound for Los Angeles International Airport experienced a communication failure, prompting the flight crew to knock on the cockpit door and the pilot had to initiate an emergency return.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) stated that American Eagle’s subsidiary, SkyWest Flight 6469, safely returned around 7 p.m. local time on October 20th, landing at Eppley Airfield in Omaha, Nebraska.
According to the FAA, the captain was unable to contact the cabin crew, so upon hearing knocking on the cockpit door, mistakenly interpreted the situation as an emergency, believing someone was attempting to force entry.
FlightAware data showed that the flight was forced to return 36 minutes after takeoff. The FAA mentioned that after landing, the crew confirmed a fault in the intercom system inside the cabin.
The captain told the media, “We were unsure if there was any abnormality with the aircraft, so we decided to return to determine the cause with a brief stopover.”
Following the emergency landing, Flight 6469 took off again around 11 p.m. and landed shortly after midnight at Los Angeles International Airport, according to FlightAware data.
In an email statement, SkyWest expressed their deep apologies for any inconveniences caused.
SkyWest is a regional airline that provides flight operations services for American Eagle, which is a regional route network brand under American Airlines.
This article referenced reporting from USA TODAY.