Pilot: 150 Miles Not a Serious Event

"It was not a serious event, from a safety issue," said Northwest Airlines pilot Richard Cole. "I would tell you more, but I've already told you way too much."

With an investigation in progress, few details have come out about the now two-going-on-three day old mishap of overshooting the destination by 150 miles. That overshot prompted the National Guard to be put on alert if needed to chase down the rogue jetliner.

While the 144 passengers were unaware of anything amiss, the flight crew stated that no one was sleeping, there were no arguments, and no one noticed that they weren’t in communication with the ground, according to one police report. The pilot and captain had just come off a 19 hour layover and were at the beginning of their work week. Both passed the breathalyzer, and both were apologetic.

Instead, the report cited the crew “indicated they had been having a heated discussion about airline policy.”

Nice cover. We can all rest assured that Northwest Airlines employees were only talking about work-related topics as they flew aimlessly around the sky. And, by the way, it’s not a serious event. Right.