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What was really taking place in the cockpit when the commercial flight of Northwest Airline was out of communication for over an hour? Was it aliens or fatique?
Federal investigators struggle to clarify what the crew members of the jetliner were doing at 37,000 feet, as they sped past their Minneapolis destination by 150 miles. Military jets were getting organized to chase them.
After landing the pilots passed breathalyzer tests and appeared apologetic.
The airlines authorities affirmed the pilots told them they had been having such a heated argument about airline policy, they had lost track of time. Aviation safety professionals and other pilots are extremely skeptical that the crew could have become so inattentive to their duties that they forgot to land an aircraft carrying 144 passengers.
Richard I. Cole, first officer refused to discuss what exactly happened, but did insist “It was not a serious event, from a safety issue. I can’t go into it, but it was innocuous.”
The final 30 minutes of the flight only has been recorded by the cockpit recorder. The plane's flight recorders were delivered to the National Transportation Safety Board Washington headquarters. Keith Holloway spokesman, said that fatigue and cockpit distraction will be looked into.
Unable to raise the pilot’s attention, the plane continued through the night, over a wide swath of the midcontinent. Air traffic controllers in two states, as well as pilots in other planes, tried raising the plane by radio, data message and cell phone. On the ground, fearful officials alerted National Guard jets to go after the airliner from two locations, though none of the military planes got off the runway.
The Flight Safety Foundation president Voss affirmed “The three flight attendants onboard should have questioned why there were no preparations for landing being made.”
Aviation experts state the lights of Minneapolis should have clued them in that they'd reached their destination, despite cloudy conditions. Brightly lit cockpit displays should have advised the pilots it was time to land.
The pilots finally became aware of the situation when a flight attendant called on an intercom from the cabin.
With worries about terrorists still high, even after contact was re-established, air traffic controllers asked the crew to prove who they were by executing turns.
The head flight attendant told police she was unaware of anything out of the ordinary during the flight.
Lonnie Heidtke, a passenger on the extended flight, says he didn't notice anything unusual before the landing except that the plane was late. Heidtke said "I did jokingly call my wife and say, 'This is the first time I've seen the police meet the plane. Maybe they're going to arrest the pilots for being so late.' Maybe I was right".
Delta confirmed it plans to give flight vouchers worth a few hundred dollars to each of the passengers. The two pilots have been temporarily suspended.
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