Cockpit distractions

[BigDallasDick8x6]

"Cockpit distractions"? Is it just me or does that sound suspicious? "Cockpit distractions - that's all we can say at this time." Why was that all they could say?? If they were on the laptops (ahem) as they later claimed, why not just say that at the time. Sounds like an invented story later to cover their tracks.

Let's see, two men, total privacy, behind a locked door and got so carried away with what they were doing they totally lost track of time. What COULD they have been doing in there? Cockpit distractions indeed.

 

[B_Cegro27]

Well they could've been making out, blowing/banging each other...sure...but more than likely they were both snoozing.

 

[nudeyorker]

This has been my theory from the get go.
GayForIt.com - Kent Larson & Gus Mattox in cockpit

 

[B_jeepguy2]

I think the whole incident was pretty much blown out of proportion by the media. They went what 150 miles off course? When you are flying 300+mph it doesn't take too long to go that far. Even if they realized they had forgotten to start landing the procedures 10 minutes after they were supposed to start their descent you can't just turn that thing around on a dime and set it down. You have to start loosing altitude about 125-150 miles out just to put one of those big ass things down on the runway.

 

[vince]

I think the whole incident was pretty much blown out of proportion by the media. They went what 150 miles off course? When you are flying 300+mph it doesn't take too long to go that far.

That would be 30 minutes.

Even if they realized they had forgotten to start landing the procedures 10 minutes after they were supposed to start their descent you can't just turn that thing around on a dime and set it down. You have to start loosing altitude about 125-150 miles out just to put one of those big ass things down on the runway.

They were asleep/arguing/blowing each other, or something, for one hour and 15 minutes during which they did not respond to radio messages from the flight controllers. They were eventually woken up or whatever by a stewardess who wondered WTF was going on.

You think the media blew it out of proportion??

 

[BigDallasDick8x6]

I think the whole incident was pretty much blown out of proportion by the media. They went what 150 miles off course? When you are flying 300+mph it doesn't take too long to go that far. Even if they realized they had forgotten to start landing the procedures 10 minutes after they were supposed to start their descent you can't just turn that thing around on a dime and set it down. You have to start loosing altitude about 125-150 miles out just to put one of those big ass things down on the runway.

So Northwest fired them and the FAA revoked their licenses for no reason??

 

[SpeedoMike]

pilots must be instantly available by radio at any time the engines are running.

it's unconscionable that they weren't precisely on their flight plan. I see no possible "acceptable" explanation for such a deviation.

 

[thirteenbyseven]

It's too bad that A320 had the old 30 minute CVR recorder because we may never known the full story how those two guys trucked along at .78 Mach through multiple Denver and Minneapolis Center frequency changes without realizing what the hell was happening. Even flights from Sydney to Los Angeles (out of radar coverage) aren't out of communication for any length of time. I personally think they fell asleep like those regional pilots for GO! out in Hawaii. But at least the CRJ-200 guys had an excuse; flying for parent company Mesa and its CEO Jonathan Ornstein is akin to slave labor while Northwest/Delta is the largest carrier in the U.S.

I don't think there are too many gay pilot pairings (as a hetero I wouldn't know) but the crash of Colgate toothpaste (Colgan) 3407 in Buffalo had some interesting exchanges between that little $16,000/ year female first officer and Sky King in the left seat. The Captain who stacked boxes at a Lutz, Florida Publix supermarket to supplement his regional airline income, had busted every initial check-ride he'd ever taken and from all accounts never possessed the right stuff to become an airline pilot. This however didn't prevent him from telling his adoring female co-pilot the intricacies of flying through moderate to severe winter rime ice conditions- "don't try this at home kids." She was swooning with adoration of her short, chubby and near-sighted Captain right up to the moment of stall buffet and stick shaker. As he inexpicably raised the nose to bleed off more airspeed, she "helped" him with her last cockpit act of "I'm retracting the flaps and getting the gear for you" thus increasing the stall speed even further. The Bombardier Q400 went into a stall/spin and shortly after was the sound of impact.

Some women.