Northwest Airbus Loses Contact; Overshoots Destination

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Contact photographer Jason Ernster

What: Northwest Airlines Airbus A320-200 en route from San Diego, to Minneapolis
Where: Minneapolis
When: Oct 21st 200
Who: 144 passengers 5 crew
Why: The Airbus was out of communication for nearly an hour and a half, and overflew Minneapolis by 15 minutes. The plane had been in contact with Denver but lost contact southeast of Denver,CO after 5:56pm. Denver ATC conferred with Minneapolis ATC. Without reestablishing contact, just before 8 p.m., the plane flew over the airport.

Military jets were put on standby.

Meanwhile, on board, passengers had a very quiet flight, without input from the captain.

Before communications were re-established at 8:14 p.m. the plane had overshot the airport in an easterly direction by nearly a quarter of an hour. Contact was reestablished over Eau Claire, Wis. It is not known if pilots fell asleep.

Pilots didn’t discover their mistake until a flight attendant in the cabin contacted them over the intercom. Passengers were looking at their watches and wondering when the flight would end. Even after they landed, passengers were told to wait, eventually walking past a line of security officers.

On landing in Minneapolis, police boarded the plane, as per standard policy.

The two pilots are suspended until Delta/Northwest investigates the situation. Interviews of the pilots and rest of the crew are pending.