Northwest Airlines flight goes 100+ miles past Twin Cities, out of radio contact for more than 1 hr

ideamark · 10-23-2009, 09:47 PM

Truly bizarre -- and upsetting. Makes you thankful these guys weren't in the cockpit of the US Airways Airbus that made the "water landing" in the Hudson in January...

Pilots missed Twin Cities by 150 miles _ but how?
By JOAN LOWY (AP) – 2 hours ago

WASHINGTON — Were the pilots distracted? Catching up on their sleep? Federal investigators struggled to determine what the crew members of a Northwest Airlines jetliner were doing at 37,000 feet as they sped 150 miles past their Minneapolis destination and military jets readied to chase them. Unfortunately, the cockpit voice recorder may not tell the tale.

A report released late Friday said the pilots passed breathalyzer tests and were apologetic after Wednesday night's amazing odyssey. They said they had been having a heated discussion about airline policy. But aviation safety experts and other pilots were frankly skeptical they could have become so consumed with shoptalk that they forgot to land an airplane carrying 144 passengers.

The most likely possibility, they said, is that the pilots simply fell asleep somewhere along their route from San Diego...

(For the rest of the story: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/...vjYdQD9BH4FIG2

The Christian Science Monitor tells us this isn't the first time airline pilots have been caught napping -- or too engaged in cockpit conversation: http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/1024/p90s01-usgn.html

Champ Kind · 10-23-2009, 10:12 PM

I hate airlines, they love to screw people over. I have flown basically once and my experience with airlines is they will bend you over every chance they get. They will probably charge these people extra for the extra time in the air.

quinn14 · 10-24-2009, 02:07 PM

Ever been day dreaming and miss your exit on a highway? I know they shouldn't do this, but they are human. The only thing I see wrong is trying to say that you were talking about airline policy. No one is going to buy that. Just man up and tell what really happened. I'm not going to jump to sleeping, though. Time will tell.

10-23-2009, 09:47 PM	#1 (permalink)
ideamark NCAA Champ Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Cincinnati area Posts: 1,643	Northwest Airlines flight goes 100+ miles past Twin Cities, out of radio contact for more than 1 hr Truly bizarre -- and upsetting. Makes you thankful these guys weren't in the cockpit of the US Airways Airbus that made the "water landing" in the Hudson in January... Pilots missed Twin Cities by 150 miles _ but how? By JOAN LOWY (AP) – 2 hours ago WASHINGTON — Were the pilots distracted? Catching up on their sleep? Federal investigators struggled to determine what the crew members of a Northwest Airlines jetliner were doing at 37,000 feet as they sped 150 miles past their Minneapolis destination and military jets readied to chase them. Unfortunately, the cockpit voice recorder may not tell the tale. A report released late Friday said the pilots passed breathalyzer tests and were apologetic after Wednesday night's amazing odyssey. They said they had been having a heated discussion about airline policy. But aviation safety experts and other pilots were frankly skeptical they could have become so consumed with shoptalk that they forgot to land an airplane carrying 144 passengers. The most likely possibility, they said, is that the pilots simply fell asleep somewhere along their route from San Diego... (For the rest of the story: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/...vjYdQD9BH4FIG2 The Christian Science Monitor tells us this isn't the first time airline pilots have been caught napping -- or too engaged in cockpit conversation: http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/1024/p90s01-usgn.html __________________ Peace www.IntermatWrestle.com http://www.examiner.com/x-7334-Colle...tling-Examiner

10-23-2009, 10:12 PM	#2 (permalink)
Champ Kind Cougar Hunter Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: San Diego Posts: 4,193	Re: Northwest Airlines flight goes 100+ miles past Twin Cities, out of radio contact for more than 1 hr I hate airlines, they love to screw people over. I have flown basically once and my experience with airlines is they will bend you over every chance they get. They will probably charge these people extra for the extra time in the air. __________________ I will smash your face into a car windshield and then take your mother, Dorothy Mantooth, out to a nice seafood dinner and never call her again! Tell me about it, this morning, I woke up and I shit a squirrel, but what I can't get is the damn thing is still alive. So now, I've got a shit covered squirrel running around my office and I don't know what to name it.

10-24-2009, 02:07 PM	#3 (permalink)
quinn14 Round of 12 Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 273	Re: Northwest Airlines flight goes 100+ miles past Twin Cities, out of radio contact for more than 1 hr Ever been day dreaming and miss your exit on a highway? I know they shouldn't do this, but they are human. The only thing I see wrong is trying to say that you were talking about airline policy. No one is going to buy that. Just man up and tell what really happened. I'm not going to jump to sleeping, though. Time will tell.

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