General

Bickering pilots forget to land

“Heated discussion” on flight deck causes jetliner crew to overshoot airport in Minneapolis by 240 km

Fasten your seatbelts, passengers. It seems those soothing messages from the captain mask an all-too human reality of short fuses among crew members during crowded domestic flights. In the case of Northwest Airlines Flight 188 from San Diego, a “heated discussion” in the cockpit caused the Airbus A320 to fly for more than 240 km past its Minneapolis destination on Wednesday, airline officials confirmed. More alarming still for ground-based controllers, the jetliner was in radio silence for more than an hour, raising concerns of a hijacking. The plane ended up turning around and landing safely, but the U.S. transportation safety board says it is investigating. So-called “fatigue issues” may be a factor, it says.

BBC News

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