Summary: On Wednesday night Northwest airlines flight 188 flew past its destination of the Minneapolis/St Paul airport by about 150 miles. While en route from San Diego, California the plane was out of radio contact for 78 minutes, which the National Transportation Safety Board calls unacceptable. By the time contact was restablished, the plane was over Wisconsin. When the co-pilot spoke to CNN on Friday he claimed that neither of the pilots were asleep, and no arguments took place. These have been the two most widely speculated excuses for the mishap. This weekend the voice recorder and flight data recorder in the plane will be analyzed this weekend to determine the real cause. Another statement was released saying that "they were in a heated discussion over airline policy and they lost situational awareness."
Opinion: This story is unbelievable. I don't understand what could ever distract two supposedly competent airplane pilots so much that they would be out of radio contact for over an hour. These people apparantly have no common sense. What is even more disturbing is the fact that these pilots flew so recklessly while responsible for over 150 lives. Of all the professions where responsiblity and awareness are necessary, being an airline pilot is number one. I wonder if these men have forgotten the gravity of their position. One little mistake can cause catastrophe. I feel sorry for the air traffic control tower, the people working there who were trying to get ahold of this plane must have been having heart attacks. I am sure that images of September 11th were going through their minds as this plane flew on obliviously. What else is there to think when a plane overflies its destination, and ignores every plea and order from the control tower? I for one want a detailed explanation for why this happened. The pilots haven't made a legtimate excuse yet. A 'heated discussion' shouldn't make someone forget that they have 150 lives in their hands.
Source: http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/10/24/airliner.fly.by/index.html?eref=rss_topstories
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