Report: Earth to pilots: Where were you?

Oct 26, 2009, 20:35 GMT

Washington - Two Northwest Airlines passenger pilots who triggered a high security alert after failing to respond to ground controllers have told investigators they were distracted by their laptops, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

The two men failed for more than an hour last Wednesday to respond to radio or cell phone contact as they flew past their destination of Minneapolis-St Paul, in the mid-western state of Minnesota.

The incident, which happened Wednesday, is under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.

The Airbus A320 had departed from San Diego, California, with 147 passengers plus crew.

The pilots have told broadcast reporters that nobody was asleep in the cockpit and that there were no arguments going on.

The Journal, citing people close to the investigation, reported that the pilots told investigators that they had been distracted by a bathroom break, a chat with a flight attendant in the cockpit and discussion of their work schedules using their laptops.

The Airbus stayed on autopilot and flew 160 kilometres past Minneapolis.

The pilots finally realized their mistake and turned back to land safely.

The White House situation room was put on alert after the air traffic controllers lost contact with the pilots, since it was not clear if the incident was a possible terrorist attack, Fox News reported.