Pilots make emergency landing after flight crew banged on cockpit door

A SkyWest Airlines flight made an emergency return landing Monday in Omaha after its pilots lost communication with the cabin crew and thought someone was trying to breach cockpit door, authorities said.

The SkyWest flight had left Eppley Airfield when the pilots lost contact with the cabin crew shortly after takeoff, the Federal Aviation Administration said. When the crew knocked at the cockpit door, the pilots declared an emergency and turned back.

SkyWest is a regional airline that is contracted by Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines.

Eppley Airfield identified the aircraft as American Airlines Flight 6469, but the FAA identified it as Flight 6569.

According to the flight-tracking website FlightAware, Flight 6469 was operated by SkyWest and bound for Los Angeles International Airport. It returned to Eppley less than 20 minutes after taking off.

The captain told passengers upon their return that he turned around because “we weren’t sure if something was going on with the airplane, so that’s why we’re coming back here,” according to KABC-TV.

SkyWest said the flight “returned to Omaha out of abundance of caution after experiencing communication issues with a flight crew mic. The flight later continued to Los Angeles,” according to NBC News.