The pilots of the Northwest Airlines Flight 188 that
overflew Minneapolis on October 21 told NTSB investigators that a distraction in the cockpit of their Airbus A320 led to the incident, not a “heated discussion,” as reported by the Safety Board last Thursday. Both pilots, whom the NTSB interviewed for five hours combined, said they did not fall asleep, but rather engaged in a concentrated period of “discussion,” during which they did not monitor the airplane or calls from ATC even though both said they heard conversation on the radio. Neither pilot said he noticed messages sent by company dispatchers.
Air traffic control lost radio contact with the flight at 5:56 mountain daylight time, as Northwest Airlines Flight 188 cruised at 37,000 feet. The flight carried 144 passengers, the two pilots and three flight attendants from its departure airport, San Diego International. At 7:58 central daylight time, the airplane flew over the destination airport and continued northeast for some 150 miles. The MSP center controller reestablished communications with the crew at 8:14 pm CDT. At that time the crew requested a return to MSP.
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