A flight headed to LAX Monday night was diverted back to its point of origin after a technical issue with the plane’s communication system may have led the pilots to believe there was a security incident onboard.
According to the flight-tracking website FlightAware, an American airlines flight operated by SkyWest departed from Eppley Airfield in Omaha, Nebraska around 4:40 p.m., and returned to the airport only 20 minutes after takeoff for an undisclosed reason.
Unconfirmed reports on social media claimed that the flight was diverted after multiple people attempted to gain access to the cockpit during the flight.
A spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Authority confirmed to KTLA that the cause for the diversion was due to a problem with the plane’s internal phone communication system. The plane’s pilot declared an emergency and turned around after being unable to contact the cabin crew and hearing knocking on the cockpit door. The knocking on the cockpit door was actually cabin crew attempting to make contact with the pilots, FAA officials said.
The L.A.-bound flight returned to the airport and was greeted by on-ground staff who confirmed there was no emergency, but rather a miscommunication caused by a technical issue.
The Federal Aviation Authority, which handles media requests related to incidents aboard commercial flights, was contacted by KTLA, but an email from the agency stated a lack of funding due to the shutdown of the federal government has resulted in the FAA no longer being able to respond to regular media inquiries. A response was received about 40 minutes later.
The Omaha Airport released a statement on social media shortly after the plane returned to land, directing any inquiries to American Airlines.
“There was no security related incident at Eppley Airfield this evening,” the statement reads.
American Airlines did not respond to request for comment prior to the publishing of this article.