NORTHWEST FLY-BYE

“We weren’t sleeping and we weren’t arguing.  

We were just busy using our laptops, that’s all”

Those are the words of two Northwest Airlines pilots who missed their intended landing at the Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport last week by an unbelievable 150 miles!

Captain Timothy Cheney of Gig Harbor, WA, and First Officer Richard Cole of Salem, OR were  in route last week on Northwest Flight 188 from San Diego to Minneapolis, when they stopped communicating with Air Traffic controllers and simply bypassed the airport.  Initially, authorities assumed the plane had been hijacked and, in a defensive move even scrambled the military and notified the White House. But once communication resumed, controllers forced the pilots through various maneuvers to assure they were in fact still in control of the plane.  Once the flight eventually landed in Minneapolis an hour late, questions ensued how it was possible for the pilots to miss the airport by 150 miles.  Originally, reports were that the pilots fell asleep at the wheel, or were involved in a heated discussion.  But, after finally going public, the pilots said neither was the case.  They weren’t sleeping.  They weren’t arguing.  They were just busy on their laptops debating work schedules and didn’t realize they overshot the airport by 150 miles.  That’s all!  For the record, laptop usage in the cockpit is against company policy and the National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.

Kinda makes you wonder about taking that next flight, huh?