OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – An incident Monday evening led a flight leaving from Eppley Airfield in Omaha to turn around almost immediately after taking off.
SkyWest flight 6469, operating as American Airlines, was bound for Los Angeles. It landed because the pilot could not communicate with the flight attendants. The pilot also reported hearing someone outside the cockpit door.
According to CNN, the emergency landing began just 18 minutes after takeoff at 6:41 p.m. Monday.
Once on the ground, investigators found there was communication issues with a flight crew mic and it was the flight crew the pilot heard knocking on the door.
Fearing an attempted breach of the cockpit, the jet returned to the Omaha airport, according to a report from The Associated Press. An American Airlines spokesperson said Monday night that the intercom pilots and flight attendants use to speak to each other had been left on by accident.
“The flight later continued to Los Angeles,” SkyWest said in a statement to First Alert 6.
On social media, the airport assured the public this was not a security-related incident. Other reports called it a “staffing issue.”
There was no security related incident at Eppley Airfield this evening. For any questions regarding AA 6469, please contact American Airlines Media Relations at mediarelations@aa.com.
— Eppley Airfield (@OMAairport) October 21, 2025
“We apologize for the inconvenience,” SkyWest writes in the statement.
Read the full statement:
“SkyWest flight 6469, operating as American Eagle from Omaha to Los Angeles on Monday night, returned to Omaha out of abundance of caution after experiencing communication issues with a flight crew mic. The flight later continued to Los Angeles. We apologize for the inconvenience.”
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