ATW Daily News

'Overflew' pilots say were distracted by conversation on scheduling system

Tuesday October 27, 2009

The US National Transportation Safety Board said both pilots from the Northwest Airlines A320 that "overflew" Minneapolis-St. Paul by 150 mi. on Oct. 21 claimed in interviews with board investigators over the weekend that they "lost track of time" while having an extended discussion regarding "the new monthly crew flight scheduling system" implemented as part of the carrier's merger with Delta Air Lines.

Flight 188 en route to MSP from San Diego failed to contact ATC for 78 min. as it went well beyond its intended destination (ATWOnline, Oct. 26). While the aircraft eventually landed safely, the incident sparked widespread media speculation about what the pilots were doing in the cockpit. "Both pilots stated that they were not fatigued," NTSB said in a statement issued yesterday. "Both said they did not fall asleep or doze during the flight. Both said there was no heated argument."

According to the board, the pilots said they become so involved in their discussion regarding the scheduling system that "they did not monitor the airplane or calls from ATC even though both stated they heard conversation on the radio. Also, neither pilot noticed messages that were sent by company dispatchers."

The pilots revealed that their discussion led both of them to access and use their personal laptop computers. "The use of personal computers on the flight deck is prohibited by company policy," NTSB stated.

The board said that "neither pilot was aware of the airplane's position until a flight attendant called about 5 min. before they were scheduled to land" asking for an ETA. The flight attendant's query caused the captain to look at his primary flight display and he "realized that they had passed MSP," NTSB said.

The pilots then contacted ATC and were given a flight track to MSP. "When asked by ATC what the problem was, they replied 'just cockpit distraction' and 'dealing with company issues,'" according to NTSB.

by Aaron Karp

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