What Were Northwest Flight 188’s Pilots Really Doing On Their Laptops?

Last week Northwest Flight 188 overshot its destination by 150 miles, staying in the air over an hour longer than it was supposed to before the pilots noticed their error. Various reasons for this oversight and the pilots’ failure to communicate with air traffic control during that time were investigated. Were they asleep or, even worse, drunk? The answer is less dire, though still disturbing: they were distracted by their laptops.

According to CNN, the pilots were on their computers during “a concentrated period of discussion where they did not monitor the airplane or calls.” What was so engaging that they both lost track of time? CNN says that “[T]he men were talking about the new monthly crew flight scheduling system put into place in the wake of Northwest’s merger with Delta Air Lines.”

A new scheduling system. Uh huh. Why do I have the feeling that something less work-related was involved? I know whenever I get to playing Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook hours and hours can go by without my noticing. And I’ve missed my stop on the train more than once while heavily engaged with Chess Titans.

Regardless of whether their laptop use was work-related or not, Northwest’s policy forbids their use on deck during flights. With in-flight Wi-Fi emerging, that policy may have to be more strictly enforced. These two can’t be the first to sneak in a bit of computer time after they turned on the auto-pilot.