Were they asleep? Pilots overshoot destination by 150 miles

"Air controllers and officials were left clueless when a NorthWest Airlines flight from San Diego to Minneapolis could not be contacted for more than an hour.  The plane continued and overshot their destination by 150 miles which understandably sparked a hijack alert."  You can read the rest here.

There's a huge stir in the airline world today after two pilots claimed their argument caused them to overshoot Minneapolis by 150 miles.  Both Delta (they own NorthWest for whom the pilots were flying) and the NTSB have launched an investigation that is sure to tell us all.


Some believe the evidence will show that the two pilots were sleeping; similar to when two Mesa Airlines pilots overshot Hawaii when both fell asleep.  Personally, I believe the pilots.  Not because they're fellow pilots, but because they're fellow human beings and deserve at least that much respect.  If they say they fell asleep, they fell asleep.  The evidence will have to prove otherwise.


I've been surprised by an airfield or two in my day, but never overshot by 150 miles.  It's like the difference in bumping the concrete stopper while you park and driving to the next town; easy to do one by mistake, hard to do the other.  You get so caught up in dealing with radio work and navigation that you spot the airport five or six miles out and realize you're too high; easily remedied.  


These two pilots, however, had to be neglecting both the radios and their navigational equipment.  It's hard to imagine both highly trained pilots could completely lose situational awareness over an argument about company policy.