Posted on 10/24/2009 9:47:27 PM PDT by rdl6989
MINNEAPOLIS - There was concern at the White House about that wayward Northwest Airlines jet that flew past its scheduled destination in Minneapolis.
White House spokesman Nick Shapiro told The Associated Press on Saturday that senior White House officials were alerted by the White House Situation Room and they closely monitored the incident.
Shapiro didn't say if President Barack Obama was informed about the wayward plane. Story continues below ↓advertisement | your ad here
Northwest Flight 118 was out of communications with air traffic controllers for over an hour Wednesday night. The plane carrying 144 passengers and five crew members was destined for Minneapolis but overflew the airport by about 150 miles before controllers were able to re-establish contact.
'Nobody feel asleep' The Northwest pilots insist a clandestine snooze isn't to blame for their goof at 37,000 feet. "Nobody fell asleep in the cockpit," first officer Richard I. Cole said.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
is something more going on here? THe pilots aren’t talking. Could there have been a true threat to our and the passengers safety and security? I look forward to clarification by the pilots etc.
They were probably transmitting one of Comrade Obama’s speeches directly into the cockpit. The pilots were dazed, no doubt confused and probably running to the bathroom to regurgitate with every “uhhhh ...”.
It was a psy-ops test with the most mind-numbing weapon known to man: a BHO speech.
Ought to be against the Geneva Convention, at a minimum.
( White House monitored wayward plane ) you mean, they knew that AIRFORCE ONE was on a joy ride for a photo op in NEW YORK city this passed year when it scared the crap out of NewYorkers ?
I would hope they monitored it, I also would hope that NORAD and the Air Force was on their ass the whole way until the issue was cleared.
Zero, nothing may have come from this, but remember, your primary job is CIC.
The flight recorder was apparently not functioning correctly. If I were their attorney I'd tell them to shut up and NOW, whatever happened.
They were probably smoking pot and betting on the plane’s fate. “Five hits says it’s gonna crash, dude!”
It was (supposedly) an older model with a 30-minute loop. They were 1 hour 15 minutes or so late, so whatever had been said was over-written at least twice.
I would imagine that they would monitor any FAA anomaly. It’s to be expected. Now if they only spent as much time monitoring our foreign enemies as they do Fox News and conservatives....
So many things here are strange. How convenient that the CVR doesn’t have anything! Oh well, there’s nothing to see here but a pilot who missed a turn at the last corner and had to go around the block.
I have not read any stories on this event, but this sounds odd. First, I thought aircraft were not expected to be constantly in touch with air traffic control. The fact that they were "out of communications with air traffic controllers for over an hour" is misleading. Wouldn't their last air traffic control contact have been the airport they left?
The interval in question would be when they didn't check in with Minneapolis. At 600 MPH, 155 miles is around 15 minutes. Does anybody really believe that the White House was apprised of a flight which was 15 - 20 minutes off course?
Well, the WH did replace the people who didn’t know where AF1 was.
Oh, they didn’t...nevermind.
An old style 30 minute loop recorder isn't going to reveal a thing.
No, it would have been with the regional ATC they were in contact with. Denver in this case, if I recall.
And if the flight had been Charlotte-Boston, flying over DC, and NYC?
I think that would have set off the alarms...
I was thinking along the same lines. AF1 made a terror trip over NYC, but it had fighter jets as escorts, and photo shots... we are so screwed...
Sounds as though you and their attorney are of the same mind. This is probably why there is no comment on the content of what distracted them. Everything is just so whacked this wee and honestly I am feeling a bit paranoid right now about our national security overall.
wee=week :-)
If the White House has the ability to tap into any air tower in the country, that deeply disturbs me.
Even without input from the pilots, the hearings will most likely find "pilot error". I imagine these guys have flown their last commercial craft.
Since 9-11 I would imagine any commercial aircraft that are off course and cannot be contacted by radio are quickly reported to the FAA and the Pentagon and then the WH.
here’s what happened. For some reason, the first officer probably switched off the emergency frequency. Maybe earlier in the flight, they were disturbed by an emergency beacon going off on the ground. This happens all the time. Somewhere around the previous center sector, ATC either forgot to direct the plane’s pilots to the next sector’s frequency, or the pilots didn’t hear it. When ATC figures out they can’t talk to the pilots, they issue a call on the emergency frequency. But the pilots had turned off the emergency freq earlier and forgot to turn it back on. Meanwhile, bored with the monotony of being overpaid busdrivers, they suddenly realize, 150 miles later, that “hey! where is ATC? They haven’t issued letdown clearances yet. Aren’t we near MSP? Oh sh!%! I think we’re past MSP. FO, get ATC on the line.” FO realizes what happened, got a new clearance from ATC and landed.
BFD. But it makes great headlines.
I have a good friend who is a pilot for Delta. He says that their asses are gone no matter what.
They should have entered initial descent about 30 minutes before they got to the airport, then gotten in the pattern for final descent and landing.
They missed all those phases of the flight.
This wasn’t like missing a turn off on the interstate.
They missed a whole checklist of altitude changes, speed changes, and other issues.
Probably got a lot “Ok, NOW we’re going the right way”, though.
Interesting scenario, but actually the individual who noticed they should have arrived was the senior flight attendant.
The aircraft reportedly went 150 miles beyond it’s destination. At 400 miles per hour, that wouldn’t take very long.
The hour’s worth of non-contact is what bothers me, and then add on it’s route beyond it’s destination, that makes this a very serious looking incident.
I’m quite curious to hear what the explanation is.
My advice to the pilots is claim to be Muslim converts, contact CAIR for support, and sue the airlines.
Hell, they’ll get a million each and retire.
The White House was concerned that it could have been an attack on Ashwaubenon.
Maybe they can get a job flying rubber dog s#(* out of Hong Kong?
Frankly, these are two asses that belong behind bars.
This wouldn't be the first time the whole cockpit crew fell asleep -- it happened on a flight to LA years ago, where the plane flew out over the Pacific.
Left out of the story is any mention of whether air traffic control tried to reach THEM.
You would expect that ATC would know that the flight was supposed to land there, and say hello to them as they entered their region, tell them about landing conditions, etc, at least 10-15 minutes before anticipated landing. Then get concerned if the plane didn't answer.
Well, the MSNBC story has pretty much tried and convicted them of sleeping. If MSNBC says they were sleeping, they must have been wide awake.
What if they did something like dial in an incorrect freq? Then get caught up talking and not notice the time? Surely they would know where they are at though.
I’d imagine you’re right. And of course, in the back of the other pilots’ minds ... “What are their seniority numbers?”
Ok, the flight attendant alarmed the pilots. That’s crew coordination. Good for the pilot for creating an atmosphere where any crew member, regardless of rank, could bring stuff up.
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