More Flap About NWA 188

My story a few weeks ago about the two guys flying past MSP and the penalty they incurred for abandoning their post for over an hour seemed like a no-brainer to me.

The two pilots were distracted for some reason we were unaware of at (Photo: Fokker Aircraft)    the time and blew past the Top of Descent (TOD) point, that spot where a Flight Management System (FMS) tells the crew, “In case you weren’t paying attention, we need to start down now in order to be in a position to land.” In some major cities, it’s not at all uncommon to hear that command 100 miles from touchdown.

These guys missed that message, and quite a few others too as they blew 150 miles past MSP. The only real questions was what these two professional aviators were up to that so distracted them from their primary job of flying the airplane. Apparently they were playing on their laptops. What really surprised me more than anything else after the Feds pulled the licenses of these two yahoos, were some of the reactions I read here and at other blogs.

Some said the FAA was being too tough on these guys who, until that moment had spotless records. There were even testimonials flying around that I posted here and that my pal Max Trescott ran again the other day. “Please give these guys a break. They’re family men,” one note said. “The local parishoners are behind them,” said another, as if this could or should excuse the conduct of these two.

This week though, the pilots began pointing fingers elsewhere, first at the Denver and Minneapolis Center controllers along the route. There might well have been a controller briefing screw-up somewhere along the way between some sectors with all the craziness as ATC tried to raise the crew.

But air traffic control wasn’t in charge of the airplane. The captain, Tim Cheney was, or should have been I guess. The regs say the person in the left seat is ALWAYS the final authority when things go wrong. Sorry, no finger-poking at ATC this time!The crew broke ranks when the first officer decided he’d rather not go down with the ship. He claimed the captain should really take most of the rap since he really was in charge anyway.

One Jetwhine comment said, “Let he who is without sin cast the first Thermos bottle. I have been taken on 120 mile TCA tours when ATC is playing Rubicks cube with the traffic, trying to get everyone sorted out during peak. Pulling tickets is not the way!”

Then there was, “Tim (the captain) said he feels very bad for the company and the pilots and is hoping for a positive outcome on their appeal. With 24 years at NWA, 21,000 blemish free hours, it would be a mistake to ruin his career over this in my opinion.”

Oh Pleeeze! – I’m not buying any of this, except the air traffic controllers. They didn’t create the situation.

Sympathizers for the pilots against the meanies at FAA and NTSB have ignored a critical element of this tale. No one got hurt this time. I doubt anyone would be rushing to defend these two if the plane had continued on to fuel exhaustion and crashed or watched as their “ADD-like” symptoms lead them into some other emergency situation.

These guys weren’t made an example of. They could have killed 144 passengers as well as themselves and the rest of the crew because they were playing on their laptops.

If you believe the story about them only pulling out their computers for a few minutes before they realized they were 150 miles past MSP, then I have a great piece of property in the Everglades I’d like to sell you. The gators are real friendly too. Trust me.