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Oct 26, 2009 10:29 pm US/Central
Former Pilot: Flight 188 Explanation 'Plausible'
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) ―
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"It's pretty plausible to get distracted because these planes do indeed, once you're up at altitude, on a nice day, they do tend to fly themselves," said Kathleen Bangs, a former airline pilot and flight instructor.
CBS
The pilots who overshot the airport say they were on their laptops when they missed landing in the Twin Cities last week.
Northwest Airlines Flight 188 ended up over Wisconsin last Wednesday night before the crew realized its mistake.
In new interviews with federal safety investigators, the captain and first officer said they got distracted and lost track of time.
"Nobody fell asleep. Nobody had an argument. Nobody had a fight. Other than that I can't tell you anything," said Northwest 188 first officer Richard Cole.
Cole admits its was a mistake for he and Captain Timothy Cheney to get lost in a discussion of flight schedules. Both admitted to investigators that their headsets were off and their noses were buried in laptop computers, a clear violation of airline policy.
"It's pretty plausible to get distracted because these planes do indeed, once you're up at altitude, on a nice day, they do tend to fly themselves," said Kathleen Bangs, a former airline pilot and flight instructor.
Bangs says she believes the pilot's explanation and that the recent merger with Northwest and Delta has caused some pilots to be concerned about how it will affect their jobs.
Other experts say with 36 years experience between them, there is no excuse for piloting the plane 150 miles past its destination.
"It's almost unexplainable for a flight crew with the experience that these two gentlemen had, they got distracted," said Former National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Jim Hall.
A distraction that could cost both pilots their jobs and licenses. Bangs says she hopes it doesn't go that far.
"Nobody's lives were in danger. Was this foolhardy, yes. Should they receive some punishment for this? Of course. Do the passengers have a reason to be a little upset? Yes. But was anyone's lives in danger? No," said Bangs.
The airline has suspended both pilots until the investigation is complete.
Minnesota's U.S. Sen. Al Franken called Monday for a ban on laptops in cockpits. Right now, that's not law.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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