Bad Day in the Cockpit (NTSB Press Release)
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NTSB ADVISORY
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National Transportation Safety Board
Washington, DC 20594
October 22, 2009
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NTSB INVESTIGATING FLIGHT THAT OVERFLEW INTENDED MINNEAPOLIS AIRPORT
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The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating an
incident where an Airbus A320 overflew the Minneapolis-St Paul
International/Wold-Chamberlain Airport (MSP).
On Wednesday, October 21, 2009, at 5:56 pm mountain daylight time,
an Airbus A320, N03274, operating as Northwest Airlines (NWA) flight
188, became a NORDO (no radio communications) flight at 37,000 feet.
The flight was operating as a Part 121 flight from San Diego
International Airport, San Diego, California (SAN) to MSP with 147
passengers and unknown number of crew.
At 7:58 pm central daylight time (CDT), the aircraft flew over the
destination airport and continued northeast for approximately 150
miles. The MSP center controller reestablished communications with
the crew at 8:14 pm and reportedly stated that the crew had become
distracted and had overflown MSP, and requested to return to MSP.
According to the Federal Administration (FAA) the crew was
interviewed by the FBI and airport police. The crew stated they
were in a heated discussion over airline policy and they lost
situational awareness. The Safety Board is scheduling an interview
with the crew.
The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder (FDR) have
been secured and are being sent to the NTSB laboratory in
Washington, DC.
David Lawrence, the Investigator-in-Charge, is leading the team of 3
in investigating the incident.
Parties to the investigation are the FAA and Northwest Airlines.
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NTSB Media Contact: Keith Holloway
hollowk@ntsb.gov
(202) 314-6100