First officer lands Delta flight after pilot gets locked out of cockpit

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Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Officials say a Delta Air Lines flight from Minneapolis made an emergency landing in Las Vegas on Thursday with the co-pilot at the controls after the pilot was locked out of the cockpit.

McCarran International Airport spokeswoman Christine Crews says none of the 168 people aboard Delta flight 1651 were injured, and the MD-90 aircraft wasn't damaged.

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According to passenger Jesse Dougherty, who spoke with ABC News, the captain was locked out approx. half way through the flight. He then explained to the passengers that the door was jammed, and he couldn't get back into the cockpit.

"There wasn't a huge panic but some confusion. It was very, very bizarre," she said.

According to Crews, the emergency was declared 13 minutes before the plane touched down at 12:23 p.m. The plane had been headed for Las Vegas, and it pulled into its regular gate at McCarran on time about 12:30 p.m.

Delta spokeswoman Lindsay McDuff says commercial aircraft can be landed with one pilot, and Delta crews are trained for such situations.

Crews says the door malfunctioned, and McDuff says it'll be evaluated by maintenance technicians.

Additional reporting by Mashable

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