Pilots lost in the clouds had heads in airline merger instead

Blame deregulation? The Northwest Airlines pilots who overshot Minneapolis-St. Paul last week told federal investigators they were immersed in discussion about the airline’s merger with Delta.

They were discussing the new monthly crew flight scheduling system that was now in place as a result of the merger. The discussion began at cruise altitude. Both said they lost track of time. Each pilot accessed and used his personal laptop computer while they discussed the airline crew flight scheduling procedure.

Northwest bans use of personal laptops while flying.