American Airlines flight makes emergency landing after eerie banging triggers hijacking fears. What really happened

On Monday, October 20, American Airlines Flight 6469 abruptly returned to Omaha Airport, less than 40 minutes after leaving for Los Angeles. Flight tracking website FlightAware showed that the aircraft was only 40 miles into the 1,300-mile journey when the chaos ensued.

Here’s what happened

The incident took place after the flight crew lost contact with the pilots because of a glitch with the intercom, a spokesperson for the airline said, according to the New York Post. The pilots heard a static sound over the intercom and assumed that someone was trying to hijack the plane. However, it was actually the flight attendants pounding on the cockpit door.

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The pilots promptly turned the plane, an Embraer ERJ 175, around and made the emergency landing. It is operated by SkyWest.

“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 Federal Aviation Administration 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.”

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A video recorded by passengers showed law enforcement boarding the aircraft moments after it landed.

After the misunderstanding was cleared up, the captain apologized to passengers. “We weren’t sure if something was going on with the airplane, so that’s why we’re coming back here,” the captain said over the intercom, according to passengers. “It’s gonna be a little bit. We have to figure out what’s going on.”