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The Northwest pilots who overshot their destination by 150 miles last week during a San Diego-to-Minneapolis-St. Paul flight took connecting anywhere, anytime to new heights. It turns out they were both on their computers, checking out their new work schedules (against company policy) because of the company's merger with Delta Airlines.
Yeah, yeah... not a terribly original pun, I know. But this story sure does illustrate how connected we are to our connected devices, at all ages, in all professions. We can't seem to put down cell phones when we drive, and now we learn that even pilots charting the skies with passengers in tow are a little too at ease losing track of time with the help of an Internet connection and a tech device in hand.
Federal investigators say the pilot, 53, and co-pilot, 54, are both experienced pilots, with no records of accidents, incidents, violations, or medical problems. They have been suspended until the investigation is complete. The pilots ignored calls from Delta, which now owns Northwest, and didn't know they were off course until a flight attendant called into the cockpit five minutes before the plane was scheduled to land to ask when the plane would be landing.
The passengers, who had no idea what was happening during the delayed flight, were each given $500 vouchers by the airline for the inconvenience. But the bigger issue is that the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) had scrambled fighters jets to go after the wayward, unresponsive plane but did not launch them.
So, what will it take for us to not use any and every possible moment to connect and search for info just because we can? Is Wi-Fi in the air not such a good idea after all?
