Flight 6469 emergency landing explained: Cabin crew knocks on cockpit after intercom dies, pilot thinks it's hijackers!

Forty miles into its 1,300-mile journey, a SkyWest flight bound for Los Angeles International Airport returned to the Nebraska airport. Once the aircraft touched down, police reportedly entered the flight before everyone on board, particularly the pilots, understood what was going on.

 

During the flight, SkyWest Flight 6569 lost communication with the cabin crew, reportedly due to an interphone malfunction. Despite several attempts, the captain was unable to send or receive a message from his colleagues outside the cockpit. Meanwhile, the cabin crew also figured out the interphone was not working and decided to knock on the cockpit. With the interphone link cut, the air hostess tried knocking to re-establish contact with the pilots.

 

However, the knocking only confused the pilots. Could it be hijackers, who had already pinned down the cabin crew, trying to enter the cockpit and take complete control of the flight? Willing to take no chance, the SkyWest pilots flew back to make an emergency landing, US media reports said. It was only then the full picture became clear to everyone.

 

"SkyWest Flight 6569 landed safely after returning to Eppley Airfield in Omaha, Nebraska, around 7:45 p.m. local time on Monday, October 20, after declaring an emergency when the pilot could not contact the cabin crew," a statement on the incident by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) 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."

 

Later at Omaha’s Eppley Airfield, the pilots did apologise to the passengers through the public address system.

World