FAA grounds Northwest Airlines pilots
WASHINGTON—The two Northwest Airlines pilots who overshot their Minneapolis destination by 150 miles are grounded indefinitely unless the National Transportation Safety Board grants them a reprieve.
The Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday that it had revoked the licenses of the pilots of Northwest flight 188 — Timothy Cheney of Gig Harbor, Wash., the captain, and Richard Cole of Salem, Ore., the first officer.
The pilots have 10 days to appeal to the three-member National Transportation Safety Board, the same agency that investigates air crashes and makes safety recommendations. If an appeal fails, they can apply for a new license after one year.
The pilots told investigators they were working on their personal laptop computers and lost track of time and place last Wednesday night.
Flight 188 was out of communication for more than an hour during the incident despite repeated attempts by air traffic controllers in two states to reach the airliner, the FAA said in a statement. Northwest’s dispatchers also tried eight times to contact the pilots, without response, the agency said.
The pilots violated numerous federal regulations, including failing to comply with air traffic control instructions and clearances and operating their aircraft carelessly and recklessly, the agency said.
Oct 28, 2009 at 7:21 p.m.
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If they ~were~ distracted by using their laptops, they ~should~ lose their licenses. I've never been so engrossed in using my computer that I've never looked up, checked the time, or glanced out a window for over an hour - whether playing Quake or composing a Gazetteextra comment. ☺ Pilots are trained to frequently scan their instruments, and a blinking CALL HOME! light would be hard to miss.
If they did fall asleep (unless they were sleeping off alcohol or drugs), they should have insisted on a full medical exam, including blood gasses and toxicology, stated the last thing they recalled before dozing off, what managed to wake them up, and demanded the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) thoroughly investigate the cockpit ventilation and atmospheric sensors/alarms.
Oct 28, 2009 at 3:18 p.m.
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Good one, rooster!! :)
Oct 28, 2009 at 2:45 p.m.
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thanks God southwest is opening in milwaukee November One.
best care in the air (no longer midwest).
Southwest rules and in three days i will no longer need to drive to midway to catch a cheap flight to nearly anywhere with a crew that loves who they work for and what they do
Oct 28, 2009 at 2:25 p.m.
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Thats exactly what we need is a couple of pilots poking around with laptops while flying an airplane with roughly more than 200 people on board...smooth! Way to be good pilots. I def. would not have wanted to fly on an airplane if i had those two dummies for pilots. They were "working on their personal laptops" I think sending stupid chain emails, going on facebook and myspace to update your status and comment on peoples profile and IMing people...can wait!! How can they lose track of time and not respond to TWO different air traffic control towers and it took dispatchers several time to contact the pilots.
Oct 28, 2009 at 1:36 p.m.
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the truth rarely works for some people. the lie is probably of a lesser moral nature (in their mind)than the actual event that resulted in the lost time. if they were smart, they would have said they were abducted by aliens and transported to the mother ship for the time that equals that which was lost. it is as good as anything. my serious question: did anyone see them with their laptops that would make a credible witness?
Oct 28, 2009 at 12:33 p.m.
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One a commercial airliner is in the air, they are very easy to fly on autopilot. It's taking off and landing that is difficult.
Oct 28, 2009 at 11:05 a.m.
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"Wayward pilots say they were busy using laptops"
That's about as stupid as texting while driving. I always thought that flying a plane was really hard and that was why they have three people in the cockpit!
It sounds more like a government crew...one guy sleeping, one guy playing video games, and one eating lunch.
Oh well, at least they landed the damn thing at the right airport once they figured out that they flew 150 miles past it and turned around.
Oct 28, 2009 at 10:41 a.m.
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It's very bizarre, but all three of the cockpit personnel seem to agree on this explanation.
Oct 28, 2009 at 10:38 a.m.
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They admitted to having their headsets turned off. Nice.
Oct 28, 2009 at 10:21 a.m.
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I think they were probably doing more than working on their laptop. How do you ignore repeated attempts to contact you?
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