An American Airlines flight from Dallas to California was delayed by around an hour and a half when the pilots found themselves locked out of the aircraft’s cockpit. This eventually prompted a member of maintenance staff to make the unusual decision to enter the plane through a cockpit window to open the door from the inside, which ultimately resolved the issue.
What happened?
The incident occurred while boarding was underway for the scheduled flight from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) to Monterey Regional Airport (MRY) in California. According to passengers, those already on the jet bridge were informed by the captain that the cockpit door had latched shut while nobody was inside. They were then instructed to return to the gate while maintenance teams worked to address the issue.
While passengers waited, a maintenance technician climbed onto the nose of the Boeing 737 aircraft and entered the plane through a side cockpit window. From there, he was able to open the door from inside and allow the crew to re-enter the cockpit.
Why did the door’s latch get stuck?
American Airlines has yet to release an official statement on the exact cause of the incident. However, theories posed by the media online range from a simple fault with the door’s latch to an error in its locking mechanism.
Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001, planes in the U.S. have been fitted with reinforced cockpit doors featuring an automatic locking system. This is intended to prevent unauthorised individuals from entering the cockpit, but these systems can leave pilots locked out if the cockpit door closes while nobody is remains in the cockpit.
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