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The Northwest Airlines pilots who overshot
Minneapolis by 150 miles have filed appeals of their license
revocations with the National Transportation Safety Board.


      The appeals were filed late Wednesday, said board spokesman Ted
Lopatkiewicz. He said that appeals typically are heard by an
administrative law judge with the board within 120 days.


      The Federal Aviation Administration revoked the licenses of
Capt. Timothy Cheney of Gig Harbor, Washington, and First Officer
Richard Cole of Salem, Oregon, last week. The agency said the
pilots put the 144 passengers of Northwest Flight 188 in serious
danger on Oct. 21 when they failed to communicate with anyone on
the ground for 91 minutes despite repeated attempts by air traffic
controllers and their own airline to reach them.


      Cheney and Cole told investigators they lost track of time and
place while working on crew scheduling on their laptops. They said
they didn't realize their situation until a flight attendant
contacted them on the intercom to ask when the plane would be
landing. By then, the Airbus A320 was over Wisconsin at 37,000
feet. The pilots turned the plane around and landed safely in
Minneapolis.


      Attorneys for the pilots declined to comment.


      The incident raised national security concerns. Senior White
House officials were notified by the White House situation room
during the incident. Fighter jets in two locations were moments
away from taking off to track down the errant airliner when contact
was re-established.


      Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., introduced a bill Thursday to ban
nonessential electronics, including personal laptops, from the
cockpit.


      "We simply want to ensure that, with all of the electronic
distractions available these days, flying the plane remains the one
and only focus," Menendez said in a statement.


      FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt said Wednesday that the
Northwest incident is the result of an erosion of professionalism
among commercial airline pilots.


      "I think that this is a sign of a much bigger problem,"
Babbitt said in a speech to an aviation club. "I can't regulate
professionalism. With everything we know about human factors, there
are still those who just ignore the commonsense rules of safety."

Gallery

FAA chief: Pilots must refocus on professionalism

Military notified of wayward flight too late to launch fighters

Pilots who overshot MSP airport were using laptops

Minnesota News

Twin Cities News

The Northwest Airlines pilots who overshot
Minneapolis by 150 miles have filed appeals of their license
revocations with the National Transportation Safety Board.


Northwest overshoot pilots appeal license revocation

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