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All that publicity surrounding the last week's late-arriving Northwest Airlines flight has ended badly for the two pilots. The Federal Aviation Administration has determined that the pair, who flew 150 miles past their Minneapolis destination before doing a midair U-turn, should lose their licenses. NBC's Tom Costello repeated the rap against them: "Failing to comply with air traffic control instructions and clearances, and operating carelessly and recklessly." CBS' Nancy Cordes expected them to appeal against the FAA's decision: "After all, if they lose their licenses they lose their jobs."
CBS' Cordes exaggerated the consequence of the crew's error on Flight 188 by likening it to a distracted Delta Airlines pilot who crashed his plane in 1988, killing 14, and an Eastern Airlines crew that became preoccupied and crashed into the Florida Everglades in 1972: 99 people died then. ABC's Lisa Stark offered some sympathy for the pilots' failure to concentrate: "The flight systems on modern jet aircraft are so sophisticated the plane can be programed essentially to fly itself," she explained. "Pilots are supposed to be monitoring the aircraft, watching instruments, checking fuel levels, communicating with air traffic control, even as the flight drones on."
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