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The pilot, who was not identified, left the cockpit prior to
the final landing approach of Delta Flight 1651 but "was not
able to re-enter the flight deck because of a door jam," the
airline said in a statement explaining the mishap.
The first officer of the plane, which was carrying 160
passengers, took control and landed the aircraft safely at
McCarran International Airport, without further incident, the
airline 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 said in its statement.
But Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said
the agency declared an emergency for the Delta crew when the
mishap occurred and would be investigating the incident.
Delta said the cockpit door would be evaluated by airline
maintenance technicians.
(Reporting by Cynthia Johnston in Las Vegas; Writing and
additional reporting by Steve Gorman; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
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