Washington, October 27: Pilots of a Northwest Airlines jetliner that overshot its destination by 240km last week told US investigators they were distracted during a discussion of crew scheduling that included their use of personal laptops.
“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 said after interviewing the pair.
“Both said they lost track of time.”
The safety board said their report on their investigation 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 A320 with 144 passengers, for more than an hour with the plane at 12,000m.
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, realised the mistake and then contacted controllers for permission to turn around.
The plane landed safely in Minneapolis.
Delta Airlines , which owns Northwest, had suspended the pilots from active flying pending the outcome of government and internal investigations.
The use of personal laptops violated company policy, the safety board said.
—Agencies