A Southwest Airlines pilot went that extra mile to ensure his flight took off on time – and that extra mile took him through the plane's cockpit window.
After realising he had been accidentally locked out of the flight deck, the pilot made decision to climb through the cockpit window in order to unlock the door from the inside.
As the passengers boarded the aircraft for a flight from Sacramento from San Diego, the pilot realised that the door lock mechanism had been engaged, potentially causing a delay or cancellation of the flight.
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Passenger Matt Rexroad tweeted: “No joke… yesterday last passenger got off plane with no one else on board, he shut the door. Door locked".
He added: “Pilot having to crawl through cockpit window to open door so we can board”.
While Matt while waiting at his gate, he heard an announcement saying: "Somebody who was on the flight coming in was the last one off the plane and shut the door and it's locked."
In the end, the flight took off just eight minutes behind schedule.
Matt later told CBS News: "It's certainly something you don't see every day and I fly a lot of miles and I've never seen anything like that.”
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In a statement to CBS News, Southwest Airlines said: "During the boarding process, a Customer opened the forward lavatory door and inadvertently pushed the Flight Deck door closed (which locked) while the Pilots scheduled to operate the flight were preparing to board the aircraft.
"One of our Pilots unlocked the door from a Flight Deck window, and the flight departed as scheduled.”
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In the aftermath of the incident, Southwest Airlines has announced it will conduct a thorough investigation into the door lock malfunction to prevent similar incidents in the future.
The airline says it's committed to upholding the highest standards of safety and continuously improving its operations.
The airline's spokesperson emphasised the pilot's actions were in line with their commitment to delivering a reliable and enjoyable travel experience to passengers.
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