Northwest Pilots Were Working on Laptops: NTSB

The pilots of the Northwest flight that wandered 150 miles past its destination were working on their personal laptops in the cockpit, a violation of company policy. The two denied falling asleep and could hear the radio when they fell out of communication with ground personnel, they told NTSB investigators yesterday. The flight attendants on the runaway plane are being interviewed today, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

During "a concentrated period of discussion," captain Timothy Cheney and first officer Richard Cole said, "they did not monitor the airplane or calls from [the air traffic controllers] even though both stated they heard conversation on the radio," according the the NTSB report released today. "Neither pilot was aware of the airplane's position until a flight attendant called about 5 minutes before they were scheduled to land."
(More Northwest Airlines stories.)