Pilots on wayward jetliner were using laptops

[faulkton 5,000+ posts]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Pilots of a Northwest Airlines jetliner that overshot its destination by 150 miles last week told U.S. investigators they became distracted during an extended discussion of crew scheduling that included their use of personal laptops, officials said on Monday.
"The pilots said there was a concentrated period of discussion where they did not monitor the airplane or calls from (air traffic controllers) even though both stated they heard conversation on the radio," the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said after interviewing the pair.

"Both said they lost track of time," the safety board said in a report on their investigation, which included disclosures about the nature of the conversation and the use of laptop computers.

The two veteran commercial pilots said they were not fatigued during the evening flight on October 21 from San Diego to Minneapolis, countering speculation they may have fallen asleep.

Air controllers and airline dispatchers sought to contact Flight 188, an Airbus A380 with 144 passengers, for more than an hour with the plane at 37,000 feet.

Neither pilot was aware of the plane's wayward state until a flight attendant asked them about their scheduled arrival time, the NTSB said.

The captain looked at his flight display data, realized the mistake and then contacted controllers for permission to turn around. The plane landed without incident in Minneapolis.

Delta Air Lines, which owns Northwest, has relieved the pilots from active flying pending the outcome of government and internal investigations.

The use of personal laptops violates company policy, the safety board said.

(Reporting by John Crawley; editing by Todd Eastham)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

luL.

poast wh0rin is dangerous business.

Click to read more...

 

[Loud3 10+ year member]

poast while fly.

 

[infamous_e46 5,000+ posts]

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wacky.gif.cf4a48f9e6dfe9504ffd2c946fd2f340.gif

no more poasting while driving to work lulz

 

[IamDeMan 5,000+ posts]

If these pilots were posting on http://www.crunktimes.com then it is a forgivable offense.

 

[jonny101abc 10+ year member]

Didn't even know San Diego airport could handle a 1.3 million pound Airbus A380, let alone a Boeing 747

 

[jonny101abc 10+ year member]

If these pilots were posting on http://www.crunktimes.com then it is a forgivable offense.

X2 LOL

 

[Ken448 10+ year member]

the internets cost you a $100k + job.. WAY TO GO!

 

[faulkton 5,000+ posts]

the internets cost you a $100k + job.. WAY TO GO!

prob dun make dat much

 

[Ken448 10+ year member]

prob dun make dat much

prob do make dat much:

http://www.willflyforfood.com/airline-pilot-salary/189/UPS.html

Thats just for a UPS Pilot. Rates are hourly witha guaranteed 75 hours a month.. Median pay for a

Captain is $193,500

First Officer is $135,000

Second Officer is 109,800

by my calculations.

Lowest paid Capt at United makes about $95k

 

[snoopdan 5,000+ posts]

maybe they were playing cod4 against each other via adhoc wlan? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif