US pilots make emergency landing after mistaking static sound for plane invasion

Flight returned to Omaha airport minutes after departing for Los Angeles, after intercom was left on by accident

Pilots aboard a US commercial jet mistakenly thought someone was trying to invade the cockpit on Monday, leading the flight to return to the Omaha airport fewer than 40 minutes after departing for Los Angeles.

The misunderstanding on American Airlines Flight 6469 came about because the intercom that pilots and flight attendants use to speak to each other had been left on by accident, an American Airlines spokesperson said. The pilots heard some static sound over this intercom, and they mistakenly thought it meant someone was trying to break in.