Pilots Who Overshot Airport May Fly Again

(AP)  Two Northwest Airlines pilots who overshot the Minneapolis airport have agreed not to fight the revocations of their licenses but could fly again.

Under a settlement released by the Federal Aviation Administration on Monday, Timothy Cheney and Richard Cole can apply for new licenses Aug. 29. That's more than 10 months after they flew an Airbus A320 with 144 passengers about 100 miles past their destination before discovering their mistake.

The pilots told investigators they became distracted as they were working on their laptop computers on a complicated crew scheduling program.

Air Line Pilots Association spokeswoman Linda Shotwell says the union and pilots decline to comment.

[Skruffy1]

I assume they will also be changing their names. That, or if any airline hires them, the airline will be very quiet about it.

[ALBrainTrust10]

THEY FLEW 100+ MILES PAST THEIR DESTINATION!

THEY FLEW WITHOUT TALKING TO AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS FOR 77 MINUTES!

THEY SAID THEY HAD THEIR HEADS DOWN ALL THAT TIME LOOKING AT LAPTOPS!

EITHER THEY ARE THE MOST DERELICT PILOTS IN THE HISTORY OF AVIATION OR MORE LIKELY THEY FELL ASLEEP!

AS A COMMERCIALLY RATED PILOT I CAN'T IMAGINE DOING WHAT THEY DID UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE, UNLESS I WAS FLYING SINGLE PILOT, ON AUTO-PILOT AND I DIED OF A HEART ATTACK!!!

[Skruffy1]

ALBrain, I agree with you 100%. I was only a low-time VFR-only private pilot (no longer flying), but I sure as heck am aware that "forgetting" to land an airliner full of people at its destination is nigh unto unforgivable under any circumstances.

[rwsmith29456]

Maybe a flag should pop up when you buy a ticket that say: "Flying this plane will be one of the guys that overflew his destination by 100 miles."

[m0u5y]

What a joke.

[RoboBlogger]

They should fly cargo from now on or for a period of time. It'll probably be more safer for the passengers just in case they overshoot an airport and run out of fuel next time around and while on autopilot.

[m0u5y]

Yes, it would be safer.