Northwest Airlines Flight 188 Overshoots Airport by 150 Miles

[Maluco]

I remember a few years back where two elderly women somehow missing there exit and driving onto a runway....crazy

that was classic... reminds me of

[hoveringuy]

I fell asleep once.

The Captain launched my helicopter at 4am for a 150 mile flight to Norfolk to get some important parts before we crossed the Atlantic for deployment. The plan was we'd land, grab the part, refuel and make it back to the ship in time for the battlegroup's departure.

This was the 3rd day we were embarked and I'd been doing 20 hr days as the Operations Officer including flying 8 hrs/day.

So getting up at 2:30 for a 4am launch wasn't my idea of fun. 5 minutes into the flight my AW is asleep. He's a backseater, no problem.

30 minutes in, my copilot is asleep. "I'll let him sleep... he'll be more alert for the landing..."

15 minutes from Norfolk I disengage altitude hold and begin descent.

I wake up when the RAWS tone goes off at 250ft over rural Virginia farmland.

I never told the crew.

We have no idea what kind of schedule those Northwest guys were under.

[Maluco]

I fell asleep once.

The Captain launched my helicopter at 4am for a 150 mile flight to Norfolk to get some important parts before we crossed the Atlantic for deployment. The plan was we'd land, grab the part, refuel and make it back to the ship in time for the battlegroup departure.

This was the 3rd day we were embarked and I'd been doing 20 hr days as the Operations Officer including flying 8 hrs/day.

So getting up at 2:30 for a 4am launch wasn't my idea of fun. 5 minutes into the flight my AW is asleep. He's a backseater, no problem.

30 minutes in, my copilot is asleep. "I'll let him sleep... he'll be more alert for the landing..."

15 minutes from Norfolk I disengage altitude hold and begin descent from 10,000 ft.

I wake up when the RAWS tone goes off at 250ft.

I never told the crew.

We have no idea what kind of schedule those Northwest guys were under.

you endangered your life and that of two others... They endangered 144 lives. No excuses when you have the lives of others in your hands.

[thearkitekt]

big whoops, im just glad NW is going to be hiring. maybe i can get a new job! haha

[Maluco]

big whoops, im just glad NW is going to be hiring. maybe i can get a new job! haha

you can get a job making wake-up calls or setting the alarm clocks!!!

they need to hire Otto!

[Restoman]

There are plenty of reasons they could have passed up their spot:

Sleeping
Group banging the attendants
Conservative vs Liberal arguement
I doubt toking up or drinking. That type of activity brings swift termination.

Getting your dicky sticky might just impress your boss.

[Hick]

what? have you never missed an exit before either? give them a break!

lol

your car does not plummet thousands of feet to a horrific crash when it runs out of gas...

[Apex381]

Yeah, but I wasn't sleeping behind the wheel. Just stoned!

PS: Don't those new Mercedes wake you up if you fall asleep? How the hell does that work?

Your speaking about the lane departure warning system. I don't know how the S Class system works but BMW's system in the 7 series vibrates the wheel if you move out of your lane without using the turn signals or drift off the road. I assume the Benz system works the same way

[LJSE34]

A few years back when the pilots landed at the wrong airport, wasn't that also NWA?

[ZM Blue Devil]

In the pilots' defense, if you're traveling at 500+mph, it doesn't take long at all to travel 150 miles. Still, it does make me wonder what--exactly--were they doing for those 15 minutes?

I thought the article said... Lost contact for 78 minutes...

[Erick]

Seems like they lost contact before the airplane should have initiated its approach for landing.

The first station to lose contact with the plane was Denver, so that's at least half an hour away based on the radius that Denver would serve before they switch frequencies.

[hoveringuy]

At this point the F.O. is claiming that they weren't sleeping. Too bad, that would be the most forgivable and understandable option.

Any thing else is even more egregious than falling asleep... they were awake but not paying attention to anything?

[BlackE30]

I fell asleep once.

The Captain launched my helicopter at 4am for a 150 mile flight to Norfolk to get some important parts before we crossed the Atlantic for deployment. The plan was we'd land, grab the part, refuel and make it back to the ship in time for the battlegroup's departure.

This was the 3rd day we were embarked and I'd been doing 20 hr days as the Operations Officer including flying 8 hrs/day.

So getting up at 2:30 for a 4am launch wasn't my idea of fun. 5 minutes into the flight my AW is asleep. He's a backseater, no problem.

30 minutes in, my copilot is asleep. "I'll let him sleep... he'll be more alert for the landing..."

15 minutes from Norfolk I disengage altitude hold and begin descent.

I wake up when the RAWS tone goes off at 250ft over rural Virginia farmland.

I never told the crew.

We have no idea what kind of schedule those Northwest guys were under.

Thanks for not hitting my house

[ACMF74]

(CNN) -- The pilots of the commercial jetliner that last week overshot its destination by about 150 miles have said they were using their laptops and lost track of time and location, federal safety officials said Monday.

Scary

They were prolly trolling R3V.

[vlad]

(CNN) --
They were prolly trolling R3V.