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Updated: 10/27/2009 12:26 AM KSTP.com |
Distracted Pilots Overfly the Twin Cities
The Airbus A-320, carry 147 passengers and crew, lost contact with controllers just before 7 p.m. The National Transportation Safety Board says an hour later the plane flew over Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, and continued for 150 miles into Wisconsin. The FAA notified the military, which put Air National Guard fighter jets on alert at two locations. As many as four planes could have been scrambled, but none ever took to the air. "After FAA re-established communications, we pulled off," said Michael Kucharek, a North American Aerospace Defense Command spokesman. Officials say controllers were able to reestablish contact with the plane at 8:14 p.m. NTSB officials say the pilots told controllers they had gotten distracted and requested to return to Minneapolis-St. Paul International. The plane landed safely after 9 p.m., about an hour and fifteen minutes later than it was scheduled to land. Northwest Airlines originally told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS the delay was due to weather, but during a post-flight interview the NTSB says the pilots told federal authorities they were in a heated discussion over airline policy and were not aware of the situation. A source familiar with the investigation who wasn't authorized to speak publicly said the pilots didn't become aware of their situation until a flight attendant contacted them through an intercom from the cabin to the cockpit. The National Transportation Safety Board will be conducting it's own interviews. They say the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder have been secured and are being sent to its lab in Washington, D.C. The NTSB says right now it is looking into all possibilities, including pilot fatigue. Thursday afternoon, Delta Airlines released a written statement saying, "The safety of our passengers and crew is our top priority. We are cooperating with the FAA and NTSB in their investigation as well as conducting our own internal investigation. The pilots have been relieved from active flying pending the completion of these investigations." Passengers 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS talked with immediately after the plane landed said they were unaware of any problems onboard. No one was hurt. |
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FAA sources say Northwest Airlines flight 188 from San Diego to Minneapolis lost radio communication for over an hour Wednesday night. 