FAA revokes licenses of 2 overshooting Northwest Airlines pilots

Still funny because it's upside down.

Here’s the press release from the FAA announcing that the two pilots who took their Northwest Airlines Airbus on a little Sunday drive are going to be grounded for awhile:

The Federal Aviation Administration has revoked the licenses of two Northwest Airlines pilots who overflew their destination airport on October 21, 2009 while operating Flight 188 from San Diego to Minneapolis.

The pilots were out of contact with air traffic controllers for an extended period of time and told federal investigators that they were distracted by a conversation. Air traffic controllers and airline officials repeatedly tried to reach them through radio and data contact, without success.

The emergency revocations cite violations of a number of Federal Aviation Regulations. Those include failing to comply with air traffic control instructions and clearances and operating carelessly and recklessly.

The revocations are effective immediately. The pilots have 10 days to appeal the emergency revocations to the National Transportation Safety Board.

via Washington Headquarters Press Release.

It seems to me like not missing your turn-off while you’re in the sky is kind of a basic requirement of being an airplane pilot, but perhaps I don’t understand these complicated technical matters involving civil aviation and aeronautics.

Maybe while they are taking away their pilots’ licenses, they ought to take away their laptops, too.