A SkyWest flight made an emergency landing Monday night after its flight crew “was knocking on the cockpit door” over a communications issue with the pilot, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said.
The FAA told FOX Business that, “SkyWest Flight 6469 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.”
“After landing, it was determined there was a problem with the inter-phone system and the flight crew was knocking on the cockpit door,” the FAA added. “The flight was headed to Los Angeles International Airport.”
SkyWest, a regional carrier, told FOX Business on Tuesday that, “SkyWest Flight 6469, operating as American Eagle from Omaha to Los Angeles on Monday night, returned to Omaha out of abundance of caution after experiencing communication issues with a flight crew mic.”
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Data from the website FlightAware shows the aircraft turned around shortly after takeoff and landed about 40 minutes later.
“We weren’t sure if something was going on with the airplane, so that’s why we’re coming back here. It’s going to be a little bit. We [are] going to have to figure out what is going on,” a voice was heard telling passengers after the plane landed, according to a video obtained by KABC.
The video also showed police boarding the aircraft.
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Data from FlightAware indicated that the plane was able to take off again for California about five hours after its original scheduled departure.
In late August, a SkyWest flight also made an emergency landing in Austin, Texas, after encountering turbulence so strong that it caused two passengers to be hospitalized with injuries.
Air traffic control audio released in that incident revealed that at least one of the injured passengers experienced bleeding, according to local outlet KVUE. The flight attendant also said a stretcher would be needed at the gate.
FOX Business’ Landon Mion contributed to this report.
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