Cockpit-Breach Scare Forces Emergency Landing Of LAX-Bound Flight: Reports

An LAX-bound flight made an emergency landing Monday after the crew lost communication with the pilots, prompting the flight attendants to bang on the cockpit door and raise fears someone was trying to break in, according to reports.

American Airlines flight 6469, operated by the regional carrier SkyWest, departed from Omaha, Nebraska at 6:23 p.m. CT Monday. It turned back around and landed at the city's Eppley Airfield 36 minutes later, NBC News reported.

The issues began when the pilots in the cockpit lost contact with the flight crew in the cabin. Passengers saw the crew — unable to communicate with the pilots on the interphone — banging on the door of the cockpit, ABC 7 reported.

The pilots — hearing the banging on the door and unable to communicate with the crew — mistakenly thought someone was trying to breach the cockpit, the station reported.

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. We apologize for the inconvenience," SkyWest said in a statement.

The Federal Aviation Administration released a statement after the incident, ABC 7 reported.

"SkyWest Flight 6569 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 statement said. "After landing, it was determined there was a problem with the inter-phone system and the flight crew was knocking on the cockpit door."

A video shot after the plane landed showed the captain making an announcement to the confused passengers.

"We weren't sure if something was going on with the airplane, so that's why we're coming back here. It's gonna be a little bit. We have to figure out what's going on," the captain said.