Pilots Using Laptops Go 150 Miles Off Course

[Guest]

If the facts are true that they ignored ATC's attempts to contact them, then they should have disciplinary action taken against them. That being said, it only takes just over 15 minutes to travel 150 miles at cruising speed. Although you would think that their autopilot system would have activated the boxing glove on a spring to alert them by that time.If the facts are true that they ignored ATC's attempts to contact them, then they should have disciplinary action taken against them. That being said, it only takes just over 15 minutes to travel 150 miles at cruising speed. Although you would think that their autopilot system would have activated the boxing glove on a spring to alert them by that time.

 

[r0x0r]

"Northwest Flight 188 from San Diego to Minneapolis reportedly went 150 miles off course because first officer, Richard I. Cole, was tutoring captain Timothy B. Cheney on a new system put in place by Delta Air Lines."

I bet he was just showing off his sweet framerates in FSX.

 

[Guest]

These days the average person just doesn't have a backbone in situations like these. Flight attendant either male or female could have and should have yelled at atleast one of them to stfu and land the plane back there at the airport. To hell with their job or anything else there are people on that plane don't just stand there like a stupid sheep and do nothing. Make someone realize just how stupid they are and make them correct their mistake especially when so many lives depend on it. This is just as bad as that other story with the kid with an axe and a knife, someone should have jumped him and kept him down until the cops showed up. If someone would have done that, that old lady would still be ok instead of nearly stabbed to death. Why are everyday people afraid to take a stand against stupid crap these days? as long as the dummy doesn't have a gun then someone should stop the dummy it's that simple.

 

[belardo]

How DISTRACTED from a laptop can you be to IGNORE Air-Traffic control saying "HELLO?" or flight attendants knocking on the door.

Most likely, both pilots were engaged in homosexual activity and were having too much of a good time.

Remember, the plane has an OLDER Flight Data recorder - so it ONLY has the last 30minutes of any activity... in which by then, the pilots were already on the way back. Newer Recorders will have the entire flight.

 

[mman74]

[citation][nom]cielmerlion[/nom]Umm we must be missing something because cruising speed at altitude for jet arcraft ranges from 450-570mph, so a 90 minute veer in direction would take them much more than 150 miles, unless the only veered slightly.[/citation]
What the article said was that they IGNORED air traffic control for 90 minutes. I am not an air-traffic controller but I assume they would contact you BEFORE you were directly above them at full cruising speed.

 

[razor512]

They need to do a bit of a firmware update for the planes GPS to offer text to speech that will warn the pilots when it is time to begin the landing process.

that way when there busy using their laptop to post cat pictures on 4chan, the planes GPS will alarm and then give a tts message telling them that it is time to start landing.

 

[r0x0r]

[citation][nom]Razor512[/nom]...that way when there busy using their laptop to post cat pictures on 4chan, the planes GPS will alarm and then give a tts message telling them that it is time to start landing.[/citation]

That is the funniest thing I have read all day.

Thanks for the laugh 😀

 

[gravitygirl]

Yeah. This new explanation of the pilot's activities still sound fishy. I agree. I'm not sure if firing is in order but certainly make a serious point with these pilots (and others) by "removing a stripe" from their shoulders, suspending them without pay for time, then giving them some crappy routes for a year to help them remember.

 

[gravitygirl]

And of course their high scores should be removed, from whatever game they were playing.

 

[Parrdacc]

[citation][nom]monicas[/nom]There's no way this is the real story! I get that they were distracted, but there's no way their on board communications didn't scream at them when they went off course. I'm sure there were several attempts to contact the plane that could not have gone unnoticed. Something is wrong here.Monica SLos Angeles Computer Repairhttp://www.sebecomputercare.com[/citation]

Distracted yes. However on board communications on a plane only work if they have their communications set properly. If their communications i.e. radio frequency was set for a differant air space then no they would not have heard anything. When flying a plane you just do not have one set radio frequency to communicate with but a range of them. When you, for example, take off from NY to Los Angeles, depending on the flight path, you might have to change your frequency mutliple times as you enter various other air spaces. So no their communications would not have gone off and the "ignored air-traffic controllers in three locations for about 90 minutes" is not exactly correct. Your not ignoring traffic controllers if you cannot here them cause you did not change your communications when you entered into their air space. Your just showed incompentence

 

[Parrdacc]

[citation][nom]Parrdacc[/nom]Distracted yes. However on board communications on a plane only work if they have their communications set properly. If their communications i.e. radio frequency was set for a differant air space then no they would not have heard anything. When flying a plane you just do not have one set radio frequency to communicate with but a range of them. When you, for example, take off from NY to Los Angeles, depending on the flight path, you might have to change your frequency mutliple times as you enter various other air spaces. So no their communications would not have gone off and the "ignored air-traffic controllers in three locations for about 90 minutes" is not exactly correct. Your not ignoring traffic controllers if you cannot here them cause you did not change your communications when you entered into their air space. Your just showed incompentence[/citation]


After re-re-reading this, monicas, the incompentence remark was geared toward the pilots in this story and not at you. So do not take it the wrong way.

 

[lordcrazex]

Luckily, no passengers got hurt or anything unfortunate happened to them. otherwise, those two pilots would not be so lucky by just being suspended...

Well, that's a pretty good lesson for the rest of the pilot community to take note of if u ask me.. (^-^)

 

[ethanolson]

the fuel costs...

 

[FoShizzleDizzle]

It's a good thing they lock off the cabins now. Because the flight attendant would have walked in on some gay sex that would've scarred them for life.

 

[Mulder19]

When asked why they were out of contact with air traffic control, the pilots scoffed, responding that they had diligently tweeted their coordinates throughout the flight.

 

[Guest]

You know they were playing World of WarCraft and just about to cap the flags when some stupid alliance messed it all up and caused them to have to take the castle back. "Sorry everyone, that was super important to take back before we land."