A Delta Air Lines pilot got locked out of the cockpit during a routine flight from Minneapolis to Las Vegas Thursday, forcing an emergency landing.
"About half way through flight there seemed to be some talking at the front of the plane. You could see the captain out there," passenger Jesse Dougherty
told ABC News. "There wasn't a huge panic but some confusion."
As it turned out, the unnamed pilot had left the cockpit to use the restroom, and found that the door to the cockpit was stuck shut when he tried to return to the controls.
After trying to pry it open and getting nowhere, he decided he had to inform the flight attendants and passengers.
"It was very, very bizarre," Dougherty said he thought when the situation came to light.
Luckily for everyone aboard, the co-pilot was still in the cockpit, was able to communicate the emergency to air traffic control in Las Vegas, and land the plane safely. Dougherty said everyone cheered once they were safely on the ground.
Because the ground-driving controls are on the other side of the cockpit, the plane had to be towed to the gate after it landed.
McCarran International Airport spokeswoman Christine Crews later said that none of 168 people aboard Delta flight 1651 were injured.
"A commercial aircraft can be landed with one pilot at the control and Delta pilots are fully trained to do so if the situation were to occur," she said in a statement. "The First Officer took control and landed the aircraft safely without incident. The door will be evaluated by Delta maintenance technicians."
Some initial reports as of yet unconfirmed by airport officials say that a string had gotten caught in the cockpit door jam, and caused the door to stick.
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