Fri, Oct 30, 2009
Transportation Secretary Responds To Northwest Flight 188
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood
said Wednesday the DOT's examination of the effects of distractions
on the U.S. transportation system will be expanded to include the
cockpit, following last week's incident involving an aircraft that
overflew its intended destination.
The pilots of Northwest Flight 188 both said they were
distracted by their laptops and an intense discussion of airline
policy, which caused them to miss several attempts at radio contact
and fly past Minneapolis-St. Paul by 150 miles.
The Associated Press reports that LaHood's comments came during
testimony before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation
Committee. "We're not going to equivocate on this. Any kind of
distraction, whether it's trains, planes or automobiles is a
distraction and we should figure out ways to get these cell phones,
the texting, ... and the use of laptops out of the hands of people
who are supposed to be delivering the public to somewhere safely,"
LaHood said.
Following the hearing, LaHood told reporters that FAA
Administrator Randy Babbitt is looking into the whether there
should be uniform federal regulations about the use of laptops in
the cockpit.
Ray LaHood
The FAA immediately suspended the pilot's certificates for
numerous violations of federal regulations, including failing to
comply with air traffic control instructions and clearances and
operating their aircraft carelessly and recklessly, the FAA
said.
"We can't have these kinds of distractions in the cockpit. We
can't," LaHood said.
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