Delta pilot locked out of cockpit; co-pilot lands plane at McCarran
A Delta Air Lines pilot got locked out of the cockpit of a plane on the way in to Las Vegas on Thursday.
Fortunately, a co-pilot got the MD90 aircraft landed just fine.
An emergency call came in about 12:10 p.m. when the cockpit door of Delta flight 1651 malfunctioned just before the flight from Minneapolis was to land at McCarran International Airport.
By 12:23 p.m. it was safely on the ground, airport spokeswoman Christine Crews said.
“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,” Delta spokeswoman Lindsay McDuff said.
It is unclear if the co-pilot was able to exit the cockpit immediately after landing. No one was hurt and the 168 passengers were allowed to deboard the plane.
Delta maintenance technicians will evaluate the faulty door, McDuff said.
Contact Kimberly De La Cruz at kdelacruz@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Find her on Twitter: @KimberlyinLV.