US pilots make emergency landing after mistaking static sound for plane invasion

Flight returned to Omaha airport minutes after departing for Los Angeles, after intercom was left on by accident

Pilots aboard a US commercial jet mistakenly thought someone was trying to invade the cockpit on Monday, leading the flight to return to the Omaha airport fewer than 40 minutes after departing for Los Angeles.

The misunderstanding on American Airlines Flight 6469 came about because the intercom that pilots and flight attendants use to speak to each other had been left on by accident, an American Airlines spokesperson said. The pilots heard some static sound over this intercom, and they mistakenly thought it meant someone was trying to break in.

According to video shot after the plane’s landing and reported on by KABC, passengers onboard were confused as the flight’s captain sought to explain what had happened.

“We weren’t sure if something was going on with the airplane, so that’s why we’re coming back here,” the captain said, according to the video. “It’s going to be a little bit – we have to figure out what’s going on.”

Cockpit doors on passenger jets are generally locked during flights, and they were reinforced after the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks involving hijacked planes.

Monday’s flight was operated by SkyWest, which flies regional routes for American and other airlines. The plane was an Embraer ERJ 175, according to the flight-tracking website FlightAware.

The Omaha Airport Authority said there was no security-related incident at the airport and referred questions to American.

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This article was published by the Guardian.