FAA revokes licenses of wayward pilots

There was SOMETHING on their laps...and it wasn't a computer. I'm guessing there was a flight attendant in there with them.

They should both practice saying "Welcome to Wal-Mart"....a job they are qualified for.

Wow, Hardly any conservatives here complaining about the government interfering with people's lives.

After listening to the nasty vitriol( alot of you will need to look that up) being directed at those two pilots who screwed up, but hurt no one, I realize now what a bunch of jealous, pathetic, miserable little people inhabit this country. I now understand how the party of the jealous, pathetic, miserable, poor me screw them people( the democrats) has come to power...for the moment.

the post from people defending these pilots are pathetic.   had the plane crashed these same people would be crying about why did delta allow these guys to have laptops in the cockpit.  i personally believe they fell asleep.  this is the second story they have given about this issue so i dont think they have credibility.   either way it simply doesnt matter.  not only did their inattentiveness risk the lives of all on board,  cause a national emergency, but it also considerably hurt the reputation of delta airlines.  yanking their certificates is prudent and warranted.   these guys have their pensions and i am sure they both have some major bucks sacked away.   but they should never be flying with a atp license again and probably not with a commercial as well.    now everyone knows braking the rules have consequences.

Hi, Sweetie!

Checking in with ya! We're somewhere in the midwest. I haven't looked at the controls in awhile, thought I'd catch up with my email.

I wish I could remember where we're landing but I haven't checked our schedules in days and days.

Talk to ya later, Nappie

Hummmmm now let's see. What could have taken these two pilot's attention away from high in the sky driving? Hummmmm. OH I KNOW. They were watching Rachel Ray's cooking show! Or maybe Oprah had a great guest that day. Or could it be As the World Turns? Just a thought.

Soon laptops in the flight deck and with the person in charge of the cabincrew will be mandatory. The best security tool airlines can get!

The indoustry should ask pilots to file their username with the airline company on the airline's website.

Soon laptops in the flight deck and with the person in charge of the cabin crew will be mandatory. The best security tool airlines can get!

The indoustry should ask pilots to file their username with the airline company on the airline's website.

I really believe there is a lot more to this...I find it hard to believe that a plane which would normally be on autopilot, overflies its destination, AND messages from other control towers at other airports along the way are ignored. Even when I am on my computer I hear my phone ring or my cell phone ring.

I believe however the NTSB should have investigated this a lot more. These Pilots were already under suspension, they werent flying anywhere again at any given time. YES, if these pilots were guilty of gross negligence they should be fired, plain and simple. This has nothing to do with unions or anything - the passengers on this plane and any other plane deserve to have top notch Pilots who pay attention to ALL detail and do the job they are being paid to do.

Both of them should be flying kites from now on......but not together. What were they really doing? Laptops or Lap Dancers on the Flight Deck thats the real question and Moak doesn't want the answer to come out and neither does the FAA.

i quit flying northwest year's ago!!!

Alright Morris-463243: I'll cast the first stone. Two pilots, charged with the responsibility of completing a flight within the laws and guidelines the FAA has setup for this sort of travel, screwed it up hugely.

Where in the FAR's does it say airline transport pilots can abdicate their responsibility to, nothing? Where does it say they can ignore contact from air traffic control?

That's right. It doesn't. I'm a pilot. I don't want them anywhere up there with me or anyone else. They don't belong there. Being an AT pilot means you operate a cut-above the rest. Period. No excuses.

Pull their tickets for good. Maybe they can get jobs as cabbies in New York.

Whats the big deal... a 150 miles at airspeed is maybe 10 minutes? Their making them out to be monsters. Sounds like a pretty small mistake. Its not like they blatantly put every ones life at risk.

it is somewhat amusing though, that passengers cannot use any devices while in the air, yet the crew can, particularly the ones FLYING THE AIRPLANE!

Be real here. Who in the world has been so engaged in working on a "laptop" so intently that they miss repeated calls, intercoms, knocks on the door, etc. for 1.5 hours???

Why not confiscate the laptops immediately to find out which porn site they were working on while working on each other?

It's clear what they were doing, but after all these lies they can just use the current morally accepted excuse: "we were just lying about sex" and all will be forgiven, right?? Or should we say 'left'!!!!

Be real here. Who in the world has been so engaged in working on a "laptop" so intently that they miss repeated calls, intercoms, knocks on the door, etc. for 1.5 hours???

Why not confiscate the laptops immediately to find out which porn site they were working on while working on each other?

It's clear what they were doing, but after all these lies they can just use the current morally accepted excuse: "we were just lying about sex" and all will be forgiven, right?? Or should we say 'left'!!!!

"Life's tough....It's even tougher if you're stupid."

John Wayne

Any truth to the rumor they were swapping spit when this happened. You know pilots are a crazy bunch............

The NTSB, another typical gov't agency "Why should we look at the computers?" Uh duh, maybe to get all the facts you moron. Kind of reminds of 'Why should we read the bill?".

If they were just using their laptops, why then did they miss their contacts from everyone who tried to contact that plane?  Their laptops should be examined, but they may find out that the laptops weren't being used at all.  I'm glad they fired these guys - if you are too preoccupied, and you fly 150 miles past where you're supposed to be, then obviously you don't take your job seriously enough for me to want to entrust my life with you.  They could have caused a crash since air traffic control wasn't able to reach them...there is no room for forgiveness there.  This was not an accident, the pilots violation some very serious regulations and were justly punished for them.

the FAA has a page on its web site where pilots, mechanics, and the general public can find information about safety programs -- some free, others with an admission price. The next few weeks will see classes about operating a plane / chopper during cold weather.

Some pilots believe in preventing accidents -- figure its easier to prevent than to clean up afterwards. Of course the pilot in Mr. King's "Langoliers" didn't have a laptop.

By the way, is Vera the only person on earth who has neither read nor seen "The Langoliers"?

Southwest said the same thing when they were fined 10m last year for missing safety inspections.
No doubt the industry would LOVE to keep it all "in house", so that we sheep will "feel safe".
I wish I could hide MY mistakes.

You know, regardless of what these dumba$$es were doing, their hour and a half of stupidity or whatever you want to call will have forever ruined their careers and much of their lives as they now live it. I'm thankful that there was no catastrophic end to this incident and that the 190 passengers are safe. Most pilots I know, including myself, are the type of people that would say that something like this (I believe that one of them took a nap and the other pilot fell asleep as well. It's easy, every been in a car with your passenger sleeping?) could never happen to them but in fact, it can and does happen. Sad that their lives are forever changed but as mentioned in another post, "@!$%# does happen."

To save money, the airlines are putting less fuel on planes. How far could this plane have flown before the fuel gauge came up empty? What is the glide path for a plane without fuel?