Pilots Claim The Were Distracted, NTSB Asks If They Possibly Were Asleep At The Wheel

A Northwest flight from San Diego to Minneapolis overshot its destination by 150 miles Wednesday evening, prompting the NTSB to investigate a number of possibilities, including whether the cockpit crew fell asleep during the flight. While not ruling it out, spokesman Keith Holloway called that idea "speculative."

ATC was unable to contact the aircraft for more than an hour as it approached the airport at FL370. There had been no radio contact with the A320 carrying 147 passengers since the flight was handed off at Denver with no radio contact.

In a news release, the NTSB stated "On Wednesday, October 21, 2009, at 5:56 pm mountain daylight time, an Airbus A320, N03274, operating as Northwest Airlines (NWA) flight 188, became a NORDO (no radio communications) flight at 37,000 feet. The flight was operating as a Part 121 flight from San Diego International Airport, San Diego, California (SAN) to MSP with 147 passengers and unknown number of crew.

At 7:58 pm central daylight time (CDT), the aircraft flew over the destination airport and continued northeast for approximately 150 miles. The MSP center controller reestablished communications with the crew at 8:14 pm and reportedly stated that the crew had become distracted and had overflown MSP, and requested to return to MSP. 

According to the Federal Administration (FAA) the crew was interviewed by the FBI and airport police.  The crew stated they were in a heated discussion over airline policy and they lost situational awareness.  The Safety Board is scheduling an interview with the crew. "

The cockpit voice and flight data recorders have been secured and are being sent to the NTSB laboratory in Washington, DC.

CNN reports that an NSTB spokesperson raised the possibility that the crew may have fallen asleep during the flight.  Officials of Delta Airlines, Northwest's parent company, say they are cooperating fully with the investigation.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov