Lost Northwest Pilots Were Trying Out New Software 518
Hugh Pickens writes "The NY Times reports that two Northwest Airlines pilots who flew about 110 miles past their destination to the skies over Wisconsin as more than a dozen air-traffic controllers in three locations tried to get the plane's attention had taken out their personal laptops in the cockpit, a violation of airline policy, so the first officer could tutor the captain in a new scheduling system put in place by Delta Air Lines, which acquired Northwest last fall. 'Both said they lost track of time,' said an interim report from the National Transportation Safety Board countering theories in aviation circles that the two pilots might have fallen asleep or were arguing in the cockpit. 'Using laptops or engaging in activity unrelated to the pilots' command of the aircraft during flight,' said a statement from Delta Airlines, 'is strictly against the airline's flight deck policies and violations of that policy will result in termination.' Industry executives and analysts said the pilots' behavior was a striking lapse for such veteran airmen who have a total of 31,000 flying hours of experience between them. In the case of Flight 188, 'Neither pilot was aware of the airplane's position until a flight attendant called about five minutes before they were scheduled to land and asked what was their estimated time of arrival,' the interim report said."
This is news to me. (Score:5, Funny)
But it is news to me, it can commandeer aircraft radios and navigational aids within vicinity and convert them into a giant Wi-Fi range extenders.
Yep! (Score:3, Funny)
Yep. Thats my story and I'm sticking to it. I wasn't sleeping. I wasn't browsing the web. I was using the future of cockpit aviation.
In an airplane (Score:1, Funny)
so the first officer could tutor the captain in a new scheduling system put in place by Delta Air Lines, which acquired Northwest last fall.
Shirley you'll agree that these men should be punished for endangering the over 144 passengers. I don't think it matters if it was a laptop, them arguing, sleeping pilots, or them practicing their jive talk. It's just plain dangerous.
WTF? (Score:5, Funny)
They were raiding in WoW, I would imagine. ;-)
"Tutoring in the new scheduling software", my ass.
Oh, puhlease (Score:5, Funny)
They were SO engrossed they neglected to respond to repeated attempts at contact for OVER AN HOUR? They weren't learning a new scheduling system.
They were on a WoW raid, more like.
Re:In an airplane (Score:1, Funny)
I do agree that these men should be punished, and stop calling me Shirley.
Slight misunderstanding by the journalist (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Radio Reception? (Score:1, Funny)
You are new here...it is well known that using electronic equipments on an aircraft interfers with onboard communication system.
Re:I am surprised (Score:5, Funny)
Needless to say I learned to backup more freaklently
The evolution of the English language is a fascinating thing.
Re:WTF? (Score:2, Funny)
These guys flew for 78 minutes [usatoday.com] without speaking to ground controllers. The lives of the pilots themselves could have been in jeopardy as well as the lives of the passengers. I giggled when the thought first crossed my mind, but considering the pilots' shifting explanations, it is the reasoning to beat. What kind of passion would have caused that level of incompetence at your job? Detailing the aspects of how scheduling software works? I doubt it. Having sex? Absolutely.
"This is Aero"... (Score:4, Funny)
"It'll come up any minute now..."
Windows 7 Launch Party (Score:0, Funny)
They were having a Windows 7 Launch Party!!
Unfortunately the video didn't cover this situation...
Re:WTF? (Score:5, Funny)
Cut 'em some slack... (Score:3, Funny)
The first time I encountered that damned ribbon menu it took me a long time to get anything done, too.
Re:This is news to me. (Score:1, Funny)
Could have been much worse. Had they been using Linux the aircraft would have run out of fuel and crash landed in a cornfield because the pilots spent 2 hours trying to get the Wi-Fi driver to work.
Re:Radio Reception? (Score:3, Funny)
So that means the ATC did NOT use all available means to try to contact the pilots. Interesting.
Re:I wonder (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Just say no to poorly judging risk (Score:3, Funny)
Let's say you take a 10 mile trip in your car. Just going based on averages, you are actually more likely to die, per mile traveled on that short trip compared to a longer one, but nevertheless your odds of dying on that trip are 1:7,800,000. Compare that to the odds of dying on a given plane trip, 1:3,500,000. That means you have to take no more than two car trips for every plane trip to make your odds of dying in the air greater to the odds of dying on the ground. Do you live more than 10 miles from your regional airport? If so, the odds are undeniably in the favor of dying on your WAY TO AND FROM the airport than dying while in the air.
But, go ahead and drive to wherever it is that you are going. Good luck!
Re:Luck not shot down (Score:5, Funny)
What's the signal for "Windows has crashed and I have to wait for it to reboot"?
Re:Luck not shot down (Score:5, Funny)
> What's the signal for "Windows has crashed and I have to wait for it to
> reboot"?
You wave furiously with the blue card at the fighter pilot...
Re:pushed? not a big deal? (Score:5, Funny)
I am an ex-IT engineer turned airline pilot (currently flying Airbus A320)
Dude, did you learn nothing from this story? Don't post to slashdot when you're flying!It'll get you in trouble! ;-)
Best bet? (Score:2, Funny)
Re:They were working, after all (Score:5, Funny)
Keep this in mind, all of you reading slashdot at work !
Good point. I really should land this plane sometime soon.
Re:Luck not shot down (Score:3, Funny)
This was a dumb thing, for sure, but think about it from a pilot's perspective; even a little screwup will land you on the news across the nation.
Kinda reminds me of this quote:
Re:Luck not shot down (Score:3, Funny)
There was some crappy TV show on recently that showed how to survive a disaster. What if something happened to the pilots (or if terrorists got into the cockpit). Some crappy scenario where someone in the passenger space needed to get into the pilot space because of an emergency.
They suggested taking the drink cart, and loading it up with absolutely as much stuff as you could. If two carts are available, take advantage of both of them. Canned drinks are heavy when you have a few hundred of them on a cart. A good running start, and (they suggested) the door would give way.
I don't really suggest trying it. I'd think it would be more practical to get the fat guy who's taking up 3 seats to rush the door. :)
Re:Luck not shot down (Score:5, Funny)
so far no US fighter has shot down a rouge airliner
Chartreuse and teal airliners, yes, but not rouge...
Re:Luck not shot down (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Luck not shot down (Score:3, Funny)
Very interesting. And there's a decent chance you've been stationed or flew over somewhere I was in the last year. Hmmm, are you following me? :)
I keep a vigilant lookout for those damned silent black helicopters (they unnamed agency upgraded at a classified point in the conspiracy theorists past). Shhh, if you listen very carefully, you can't hear them. That's how you know that they're there. :) One of my favorite hobbies is to give conspiracy theorists panic attacks.
I freaked a guy out in a bar a few months ago. He started talking about aliens, and I wasn't anywhere near as drunk as him, so when he started talking, I went from friendly to dead serious. He started rambling on about something where aliens could exist. In a "this is classified, but I'll give you a little treat" kind of way, I told him, it's not a matter of "if", it's a matter of "when we let you know". He said something else, and I continued on about riding on alien spacecraft, and how you just can't share alien technology with the Russians because they can't fly for shit. A reference to "the incident" made that one just right for his drunken brain to absorb. Then I went into the clandestine release of alien technology to the general population. He looked at me a little funny (funnier than just his drunkness), and I mentioned how "interesting" it was that little things like cell phones were ever declassified and sold on the open market. There's a sucker born every minute, you just have to tailor your spiel to their paranoia. :)
He started looking carefully at everyone in the bar, who could have cared less about him, and then made his way carefully to the door. I watched through the window as he ran away from the bar as fast as he could. :)
So, not to digress too far from your message, keep up the good work. :) I'm seriously jealous of you guys. I wanted to do what you do, but am categorically excluded (eye surgery). :(