PLN 2

Today I read about the recent airline incident about the pilots missing their airport due to distraction. http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/10/27/airliner.fly.by/index.html?eref=rss_topstories The Captain Timothy B. Cheney and the First Officer Richard I. Cole were using their personal laptops during the flight and lost track of time. The pilots became aware of their position after a flight attendant asked about the landing time. The pilots are faced with a suspension or revocation of their licenses. Northwest airlines does not have a regulation against laptop use in the cockpit yet however it is expected. I think the pilots should be let off with a warning because it was a simple distraction just like everyone makes, and many aviation experts say the only real danger was running out of fuel which one of the computer systems onboard would've alerted the pilots of well in advance. Though the distraction cost the airline very much money, this is the pilots' first mistake. If it happens again, revocation of their licenses would be appropriate.