Wandering Flight Spurs Nap Probe

lights · 10-23-2009, 04:16 AM

Federal officials are working to sort out whether pilots of a Northwest Airlines flight dozed off or were simply distracted Wednesday night when they fell out of contact with air-traffic controllers for more than an hour and overshot their destination by 150 miles.

1 HOUR?!?! Check out their explanation...

""heated discussion over airline policy and they lost situational awareness," "

uh huh....

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125623517851801783.html?mod=rss_Today's_Most_Popular

guiseppewv · 10-23-2009, 08:37 AM

I saw this yesterday and I thought the same thing? You argued for an hour longer than you thought you did AND you didn't hear the FAA calling you on your radio AND none of the FAs realized that the flight was taking significantly longer than it did? Seriously, something was going on up there that shouldn't have.

InfiniteNothing · 10-23-2009, 08:46 AM

They are lucky they didn't get blown out of the air in this post 9/11 world.

zippyjuan · 10-24-2009, 05:33 PM

They supposedly did have military jets on standby read to scramble and investigate when they finally made contact with the wayward jet. Stories so far are just not adding up as to what was really going on.

Houdini · 10-26-2009, 11:26 AM

Slow plane, eh? 150 miles/hour?

lights · 10-27-2009, 02:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Houdini

Slow plane, eh? 150 miles/hour?

eh?? you're right.... what the...

ray · 10-26-2009, 11:40 AM

they're reviewing the 30 minutes of flight recorder information that they've retrieved, so hopefully that sheds some light on what exactly happened up there.

guiseppewv · 10-26-2009, 01:00 PM

Fox has the scoop on this:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,...est=latestnews

Quote:

Report: Pilots Were Distracted by Using Laptops in Cockpit

The Northwest Pilots who overshot the Minneapolis airport by 150 miles on Sunday were distracted by using laptops in the cockpit, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The pilots of Northwest Flight 188 told federal investigators that a bathroom break, chatting with a flight attendant in the cockpit and then taking out their laptops to discuss work schedules apparently created distractions that led to more than an hour of radio silence with air-traffic controllers, according to people familiar with the statements, the paper reported.

The pilots reportedly told the National Transportation Safety Board investigators that they had laptops out in the cockpit while they were discussing crew schedules, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The paper said that additional factors also may have contributed to protracted radio silence.

National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Keith Holloway said investigators interviewed the pilot and co-pilot in person in Minneapolis.

Fox News has learned that the NTSB also interviewed three flight attendants on Monday.

<snip>

ray · 10-26-2009, 03:19 PM

i bet they were playing world of warcraft!

guiseppewv · 10-27-2009, 11:10 AM

My guess is that they lost contact with the plane well before they reached the airport. It isn't like flight control is going to wait until they are over the airport to contact them regarding a landing plan. They are going to plan that when they are still far enough away to methodically implement the plan.

ray · 10-27-2009, 03:59 PM

And...both pilots have had their licenses revoked.

MrGreg · 10-27-2009, 04:23 PM

I thought by now the planes would pretty much land themselves. I guess not.

Houdini · 10-28-2009, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrGreg

I thought by now the planes would pretty much land themselves. I guess not.

I think most still do, but someone has to at least initialize the landing process.

Still, either the damn thing was circling or was flying dangerously slow.

H

guiseppewv · 10-28-2009, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrGreg

I thought by now the planes would pretty much land themselves. I guess not.

They do.....it just isn't a pretty sight!

Nija · 10-29-2009, 01:50 AM

Airplane crash humor. I'm not sure how to feel about this. (Horrible airline pun goes here)

The Happy Squirrel · 10-30-2009, 10:14 PM

the plane wasnt traveling 150 mph, it overflew their destination by 150 miles and were out of radio contact for over 1 hour, they lost radio contact when they did not switch from the denver frequency to the MSP frequency, they lost contact long before the approached MSP, more fun from my neck of the woods.

10-23-2009, 04:16 AM	#1
lights Intern to the Assistant Serf Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: in the surreal world of Got\|Apex? Posts: 1,311	Wandering Flight Spurs Nap Probe Federal officials are working to sort out whether pilots of a Northwest Airlines flight dozed off or were simply distracted Wednesday night when they fell out of contact with air-traffic controllers for more than an hour and overshot their destination by 150 miles. 1 HOUR?!?! Check out their explanation... ""heated discussion over airline policy and they lost situational awareness," " uh huh.... http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125623517851801783.html?mod=rss_Today's_Most_Popular

10-23-2009, 08:46 AM	#3
InfiniteNothing Fleet Admiral Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: San Diego Posts: 9,997	They are lucky they didn't get blown out of the air in this post 9/11 world. __________________ As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals.

10-24-2009, 05:33 PM	#4
zippyjuan Picture of the Day Guru Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Sunny San Diego Posts: 8,709	They supposedly did have military jets on standby read to scramble and investigate when they finally made contact with the wayward jet. Stories so far are just not adding up as to what was really going on. __________________ I add new pictures to my photo gallery pretty regularly. You can see them here if you are interested: http://www.pbase.com/jeffryz

10-26-2009, 11:40 AM	#7
ray captain awesome Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 6,961	they're reviewing the 30 minutes of flight recorder information that they've retrieved, so hopefully that sheds some light on what exactly happened up there. __________________ new uploader

10-27-2009, 04:23 PM	#12
MrGreg Commander Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Beaverton, OR Posts: 1,492	I thought by now the planes would pretty much land themselves. I guess not. __________________ -The nerd formerly known as vectorcalculus

10-23-2009, 08:37 AM	#2
guiseppewv Admiral Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: East coast Posts: 6,955	I saw this yesterday and I thought the same thing? You argued for an hour longer than you thought you did AND you didn't hear the FAA calling you on your radio AND none of the FAs realized that the flight was taking significantly longer than it did? Seriously, something was going on up there that shouldn't have.

10-26-2009, 11:26 AM	#5
Houdini Admiral Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: New Orleans Posts: 5,017	Slow plane, eh? 150 miles/hour?

10-26-2009, 03:19 PM	#9
ray captain awesome Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 6,961	i bet they were playing world of warcraft!

10-27-2009, 11:10 AM	#10
guiseppewv Admiral Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: East coast Posts: 6,955	My guess is that they lost contact with the plane well before they reached the airport. It isn't like flight control is going to wait until they are over the airport to contact them regarding a landing plan. They are going to plan that when they are still far enough away to methodically implement the plan.

10-27-2009, 03:59 PM	#11
ray captain awesome Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 6,961	And...both pilots have had their licenses revoked.

10-29-2009, 01:50 AM	#15
Nija Chief of Naval Operations Join Date: May 2001 Location: City of The Dead Posts: 13,419	Airplane crash humor. I'm not sure how to feel about this. (Horrible airline pun goes here) __________________ "Nija is the dark soul of gotapex. We don't like to talk about him." - LPMiller

10-30-2009, 10:14 PM	#16
The Happy Squirrel Rear Admiral Lower Half Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: the castle beyond the goblin city Posts: 2,760	the plane wasnt traveling 150 mph, it overflew their destination by 150 miles and were out of radio contact for over 1 hour, they lost radio contact when they did not switch from the denver frequency to the MSP frequency, they lost contact long before the approached MSP, more fun from my neck of the woods. __________________ Lion face / lemon face!

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