NWA Flight 188

A Northwest flight recently overflew its destination by 150 miles on its way from San Diego to Minneapolis.

Not all of the details are public yet, but it seems the two pilots simply dozed off or otherwise stopped paying attention to their destination and navigation. The plane recovered and landed safely, so no harm, no foul, right?

This was a case of gross negligence. The two pilots were immediately suspended and may have been terminated by Delta/Northwest.

The event will also be reviewed by the FAA. I suspect the pilots will have their licenses revoked and may be able to eventually undergo additional training/review to reattain their licenses.

I suspect the two involved will have a difficult time finding work as pilots in the future.

I do not believe they should be punished or fined -- that is without knowing all the details, perhaps they've done something worse in the meantime...

To a pilot, the loss of his or her career and blacklisting from the industry is a major setback. It would be to anyone in his/her respective career. The pilots did cost the FAA and the NTSB and many traffic controllers additional work and time in trying to figure out what happened, but in the end these parties exist just for such situations. They have created a great deal of negative publicity for Delta/Northwest, but that is a risk the airline willingly took when they were hired (unless there is a damage clause in their contracts that states otherwise).

I don't doubt the two pilots are capable and well-trained. They made a mistake. If anything, their commercial pilot certifications could be revoked -- I think they should eventually be allowed to fly again, though perhaps not allowed to carry commercial passengers.