Posted on 10/22/2025 7:49:08 AM PDT by Red Badger
A SkyWest flight heading for Los Angeles turned around shortly after it took off after pilots feared someone was breaking into the cockpit.
The plane’s system that allows the pilots and crew to communicate with each other malfunctioned, according to KABC-TV. That led flight crew members to pound on the cabin door to communicate with the pilots.
The pilots feared that the pounding was an attempt by someone to force open the cockpit.
Because they were unable to reach anyone in the crew due to the communications system glitch, they returned to Omaha, Nebraska, after covering only about 40 miles of the trip.
Passengers were given an abbreviated version of the story upon landing.
“We weren’t sure if something was going on with the airplane, so that’s why we’re coming back here,” the captain said. “It’s gonna be a little bit. We have to figure out what’s going on.”
Henry Gruver, who was flying to Japan with his wife and 7-year-old daughter, was caught unaware by the return, according to CNN.
“All of a sudden, we started banking around the city of Omaha. And, you know, you’re tilting the wings and everything,” Gruver said.
“My wife noticed that the stewardess was kind of banging on the cockpit door, like, OK, what’s going on?” he said.
“I’m starting to pray, and I’m thinking, you know, first thing comes to mind: is the pilots going crazy and kind of take the plane down?” he said.
Despite his fears, he said the atmosphere on the plane remained normal.
“Everybody was really calm. I guess nobody knew what was happening, so it was probably a good thing,” Gruver said.
The Gruver family ended up missing its connection to Japan due to the flight delay.
The Federal Aviation Administration released a statement after the incident.
“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,” the FAA said in a statement.
“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 said.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
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Aviation Ping!..................
“Knock three times”
It reminds me of this:
Surprised they don’t install an amazon doorbell cam at the door.
Even tin cans with string would work..........
What? Stews and pilots don’t know Morse Code?
redundancy
They don’t have each others cellphone numbers?...........😉
Better safe than sorry... That being said... Shouldn’t they have a ‘back up’ to ‘back up’ of the communication system?
Maybe their should be a low tech backup intercom on both sides of the cockpit door.
Or a peephole............
I thought about that, but an open hole for purposes of communication could be a security problem.
Not a literal hole, just a sight hole like in peoples front doors or hotel doors........
Then how could you speak through it. It would be just as sound prof as the rest of the door.
The pilots could see who is knocking on the door...............
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