The Northwest Airlines pilots who overshot their destination by 150 miles have told investigators that they were distracted because they were using their personal laptops. First Officer Richard Cole was allegedly helping Captain Timothy Cheney understand a new crew scheduling program while they lost track of time, according to a statement from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). So how exactly could something like this happen? Many aviation experts have speculated that the tw
A lot of people are asking how laptops could've caused the crew of Northwest Flight 188 to overfly MSP ? According to the NTSB, using laptops on the flight deck is strictly prohibited during flight, but even a quick glance at the tray table on each side of the Airbus A320 family flight deck shows how a laptop monitor could easily block the pilot's navigation display . The tray table is available to both crew members because Airbus uses a sidestick controller rather than the center yoke
As the National Transportation Safety Board conducts its final hearing on the Cosco Busan oil spill in the San Francisco Bay last year, Rep. Ellen Tauscher has reintroduced a bill that would authorize federal officials to mandate that bar pilots carry their own up-to-date navigation devices. Click here to read a story in today’s Times about the hearing. Here is Tauscher’s statement issued a few minutes ago: “ The NTSB has confirmed that the pilot should not have permitted the Cosco Busa