It seems that pilots can lock themselves out of a cockpit, which requires entering an aircraft much like you’d enter your home if you forget a key: through a window. For a pair of Delta pilots, that involved some crawling to reach the 737 flight deck.

A rather hilarious video has emerged of a Delta pilot using a luggage conveyor belt to enter the window of a Boeing 737 aircraft. As the pilot struggles to enter head first, his co-pilot gives him a helping hand, eventually pushing him in through the window and then guiding his legs to get him fully inside.

ok, who forgot the keys?! 😂✈️ pic.twitter.com/VYXDdlZA2o

— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) May 11, 2022

Why was this even necessary? If you’ve ever taken a close look at at the onboard entrance to the flight deck, you’ve noticed that there is a numerical key pad in which pilots can input a code to enter the flight deck. Couldn’t the pilots have just entered the cockpit that way?

I asked 121Pilot, our resident pilot on Live and Let’s Fly, about this and he told me that if power to the plane was shut off, the keypad would also likely not be functional. He flies an Airbus rather than a Boeing, but explained:

At least on the Airbus if the plane was fully shut down and external power turned off in the cockpit if the cockpit door was closed you might be locked out.

There are some systems that can be powered on from a switch outside the cockpit but I’m not sure the door is one.

He added that he was not aware of a way to enter the cockpit through the window on an Airbus, so it is a good thing this was a Boeing.

Thus, it seems to me the pilots were indeed locked out, but found that entering via the window was easier than hooking the plane up to power. Probably a lot quicker too.

Still, it brings to mind the classic “do planes have keys?” sketch by Jerry Seinfeld:

Two Delta pilots are captured in a video struggling to crawl into a 737 cockpit. Yes indeed, it seems they really were locked out and found crawling in more expedient than turning on the auxiliary power unit.

(H/T: View From The Wing)

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

Some thing else was going on. Cockpit windows on the 737 can not be opened from the outside.

Actually, the window can be opened. Google it.

Yes it can, It has an emergency window release just below the window, I work on this plane everyday.

You can’t open the cockpit windows from the outside. Maintenance would have needed to actually remove the window but if they remove the window the aircraft is grounded for 24 hours because it takes at 20 24 hours for the bonding agent to cure.

So what do you think is going on here?

I don’ t know what is going on, but I do know you can not open the cockpit window on a 737 from the outside.

You sure can on the first officers side. It’s in the Delta 737 Volume 2 manual. 1.5.9.4 for reference.

737 FO-side only has an external emergency window release mechanism. There’s even a picture of it on the Twitter feed linked in this article.

Hooking up power wouldn’t do anything without the ext bus power enabled.

But did he remember to turn off Air Drop in his phone settings?

With power off the flight deck door automatically unlocks, door solinoid is always powered in the locked position, possibly the crew left the flight deck and the door accidentally shut and the wrong code was input 3 times, which case the system locks out for 30 minutes.

Why did either or both access via the window? Why flight crew? Surely only one person, who needs not be Captain or FO could have entered to open the flight deck door. Anyone else could have then entered as normal.

Isn’t the GPU engaged from the cockpit? Thanks for the reply @Joe

He just wanted to be like Dale Earnhardt and get in NASCAR style!

I am sure per the AMM The flight crew and Delta had a licensed A&P came out to inspect the window and the locking mechanism after this??? This is a maintenance task not a flight crew procedure. Or did the crew just file an ASAP report.

737s with the Jamco doors have a manual lock switch adjacent to the door which is the only way they could have been locked out. If the aircraft is powered down the door normally unlocks. Maintenance would usually be called for this issue, my guess is that this was an out-station and the flight crew either didn’t have or weren’t willing to wait for contract maintenance support.

Seriously. What a dumb ass crew? How do you know how the plane works if ur flying it?? Pull power, open door, turn power on. Ask any aircraft mech

Maybe the galley cart came loose and slammed the door shut.

This is only a drill! Haha

This is NOT A DRILL. REPEAT: THIS IS NOT A DRILL!

Can’t open 737 cockpit windows from outside. There’s more to this story. Why not use gpu

Luggage conveyor belt? They are called belt loaders.

121Pilot is incorrect. The cockpit door locks disengage if AC power is not available. Disconnect ground power, shutdown the APU (can also be done from the external power panel) and the door unlocks.

Those windows cannot be opened from outside. And it takes about 5 seconds to plug in ground power on an airplane. It’s often done even before the engines are turned off upon arrival. Maybe get your facts straight before saying they locked themselves in/out.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

This site is for entertainment purposes only. The owner of this site is not an investment advisor, financial planner, nor legal or tax professional and articles here are of an opinion and general nature and should not be relied upon for individual circumstances.

Advertiser Disclosure: Some links to credit cards and other products on this website will earn an affiliate commission. Outside of banner ads published through the Boarding Area network, this compensation does not impact how and where products appear on this site. While we do try to list all the best miles and points deals, the site does not include all card companies or credit card offers available in the marketplace. Please view our advertising policy page for additional details about our partners.

Editorial Disclosure: The editorial content on this page is not provided by any entity mentioned herein. Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.

Join our mailing list for a daily summary of posts! We never sell your info.