A concerned pilot made an emergency landing after mistakenly thinking passengers were trying to gain access to the cockpit.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the American Airlines flight, operated by SkyWest Airlines, was forced to touch down in Nebraska on Monday night, 20 minutes after taking off. The flight, bound for LA, returned after the pilot became concerned at being unable to contact flight attendants, and swiftly turned back.

It is claimed he heard banging on the door and upon landing, the captain apologised to travellers for the unexpected change of plan. "We weren't sure if something was going on with the airplane, so that's why we're coming back here," the pilot said, according to the video of a passenger on board. "It's going be a little bit. We have to figure out what's going on."

The FAA 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." Last night, Omaha Airport released a statement updating passengers. It read: "There was no security-related incident at Eppley Airfield this evening."

There have been a number of scares in the sky over the past few days. On Sunday, Delta Flight 898 was suddenly diverted to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Around 220 passengers were on board and some reported smelling smoke with the jet in the air. A spokesperson for Delta Airlines told CBS News Atlanta say the pilot took decisive action.

"The safety of our customers and people is of utmost importance. That's why our flight crew followed standard procedures to return to Atlanta after a smoky odor was detected in the cabin," the Delta spokesperson explained. "We apologise to our customers for the delay in their travels."

On Saturday, a United Airlines pilot was forced to make an emergency landing after a mystery object smashed into their aircraft's windshield, leaving him bloody and bruised. Flight 1093 travelling from Denver to Los Angeles was forced to touch down in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Thursday after the Boeing 737's windscreen was smashed in.

The unidentified pilot was reportedly left with injuries after United confirmed in a statement that the object had hit with enough force to puncture the aircraft's "multilayered windshield". Dramatic pictures have showed the aftermath of the shock incident, including the pilot's blood-spattered and bruised arm, with shards of glass seen littering the plane's cockpit.

The object appeared to have caused visible scorch marks after it entered through the plane's windscreen, with early social media chatter suggesting it could have been a meteor or some kind of space debris. Photos showing the marks also captured the near-total destruction of the windshield, which could be seen having comprehensively cracked.

Airline industry publication Simple Flying magazine outlined that damage like this is typically caused by "foreign object debris", otherwhise known as FOD, but at a lower altitude. The plane had been flying at 36,000 feet, cruising altitude, a height at which the publication said debris incidents are "almost unheard of".

While acknowledging that space debris could have caused the incident, it added that it would be the "first ever recorded incidence" of such a collision concerning a commercial aircraft.

United Airlines did not disclose what had caused the smash, but said in a statement that the flight eventually landed safely, and that maintenance teams were working "to return the aircraft to service".

Plane turns around after pilot 'thought passengers were trying to access cockpit' - The Mirror