On Monday, SkyWest Flight 6569 from Omaha to Los Angeles, a regional American Airlines flight, made an abrupt return to Eppley Airfield (OMA) minutes into its flight, after the pilots feared a potential hijacking.
In a statement, SkyWest said that the flight, “returned to Omaha out of abundance of caution after experiencing communication issues with a flight crew mic.”
Shortly after takeoff, the flight crew was having problems with getting the communication system with the cockpit to work and began knocking on the cockpit door.
The pilots feared there could be a breach of the cockpit in an attempted hijacking and returned to Omaha out of an abundance of caution. The flight did eventually depart again and continued on to Los Angeles.
Flight tracking software showed that 6569 landed only 18 minutes after takeoff and traveled roughly 40 miles before turning around.
“SkyWest Flight 6469 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. 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 flight was headed to Los Angeles International Airport,” said the Federal Aviation Administration in a statement.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
