Northwest Airlines Flight 188

Northwest Airlines

File:Northwest Airlines Logo.svg Northwest Airlines logo
Company type	Airline
Industry	Aviation
Founded	1926 (1926)
Defunct	January 31, 2010 (2010-01-31)
Fate	Merged with Delta Air Lines
Headquarters	Eagan, Minnesota , United States
Area served	Domestic and international airline service
Products	Passenger air transport

Northwest Airlines Flight 188 was a regularly scheduled service operating between San Diego, California, and Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Minnesota, on October 21, 2009, which notably exceeded its intended destination by more than due to pilot error. During this interval, air traffic control was unable to establish communication with the aircraft for approximately 75 minutes. The plane ultimately touched down at Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport over an hour later than planned.

In the aftermath, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) annulled the pilot certifications of those involved, while the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) advocated for modifications in air traffic control protocols and cockpit crew regulations. This occurrence also led U.S. legislators to propose limitations on pilots’ usage of personal electronic devices during taxiing and flight operations.

Aircraft

The airplane involved was an Airbus A320-212, bearing the registration N374NW and serial number 1646, which had been delivered to Northwest Airlines in December 2001. It was powered by two CFM International CFM56-5A3 engines.

Incident

The Airbus A320 departed from San Diego International Airport at 5:01 p.m. CDT, with an expected arrival time of 8:01 p.m. CDT. Nearly two hours into the flight, at 6:56 p.m. CDT while over Denver, Air Traffic Control lost radio contact with the aircraft. Denver ARTCC instructed the flight crew to switch communication to Minneapolis ARTCC upon exiting Denver’s airspace; however, the pilots did not respond. Numerous attempts by Denver and Minneapolis ARTCC, Northwest dispatchers, and nearby aircraft to reestablish communication were unsuccessful. Northwest also transmitted a radio text message without receiving acknowledgment. Due to the situation's severity, NORAD prepared fighter jets for interception, and officials in the White House Situation Room were informed.

Just before fighter jets were deployed, controllers at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport reestablished radio contact at 8:14 p.m. CDT when the aircraft was over Eau Claire, Wisconsin, roughly east of Minneapolis. Captain Timothy Cheney and first officer Richard Cole admitted they had been unaware of their position until a flight attendant inquired about their estimated arrival time. Controllers required multiple maneuvers to confirm pilot control and verify the aircraft’s radar transponder signal. The flight finally landed at 9:04 p.m. CDT, more than an hour behind schedule.

Investigation

The investigation conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board revealed that Cheney and Cole were engaged in using laptops to check schedules during the flight—an egregious violation of piloting standards and Delta Air Lines policy following its merger with Northwest. Although experts speculated about possible pilot fatigue or sleep, the pilots denied having dozed off. The cockpit voice recorder only preserved audio from the final 30 minutes after being powered off, limiting insight into what transpired during the entire period without radio contact.

Findings

On October 27, 2009, both pilots had their licenses revoked by the FAA. This event led to revisions in regulations governing cockpit crews and air traffic controllers. A significant issue highlighted was the delay exceeding one hour between loss of radio contact and issuance of alerts on the Domestic Events Network (DEN) as well as notification of NORAD. NORAD commander General Gene Renuart Jr. emphasized that alerts should ideally be issued within ten minutes to allow timely deployment of fighter jets for interception. Consequently, an FAA directive effective November 10, 2010, required alerts to be issued within five minutes following loss of last radio contact.

External links

• Investigation sparked by Northwest Airlines flight regarding pilot conduct
• Detailed account of Northwest 188 and Congressional action: Stricter hiring standards implemented for airlines and pilots

National Transportation Safety Board

• Comprehensive NTSB docket featuring:
  • Delta Air Lines' submission to the National Transportation Safety Board
  • Statement from the National Air Traffic Controllers Association concerning the Northwest 188 incident
  • Project details