Pilots on an LAX-bound flight thought people were trying to breach the cabin and declared an emergency
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A flight bound for Los Angeles International Airport on Monday evening was diverted after a communication issue resulted in the pilots thinking people were trying to breach the cockpit, officials said.
An American Airlines flight left from Eppley Airfield in Omaha around 4:40 p.m. and returned to the airport about 20 minutes later for an unknown reason, according to flight tracking website FlightAware.
A spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration told KTLA-TV Channel 5 that the plane was diverted because of an issue with the plane’s internal phone communication system. The pilot reportedly declared an emergency and turned around after he heard knocking on the cockpit door and couldn’t reach the cabin crew. As it turned out, it was the cabin crew trying to reach the pilots, according to officials.
The Omaha airport officials wrote in a social media statement that there “was no security related incident at Eppley Airfield this evening.”
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