Posted on 10/24/2009 9:47:27 PM PDT by rdl6989
MINNEAPOLIS - There was concern at the White House about that wayward Northwest Airlines jet that flew past its scheduled destination in Minneapolis.
White House spokesman Nick Shapiro told The Associated Press on Saturday that senior White House officials were alerted by the White House Situation Room and they closely monitored the incident.
Shapiro didn't say if President Barack Obama was informed about the wayward plane. Story continues below ↓advertisement | your ad here
Northwest Flight 118 was out of communications with air traffic controllers for over an hour Wednesday night. The plane carrying 144 passengers and five crew members was destined for Minneapolis but overflew the airport by about 150 miles before controllers were able to re-establish contact.
'Nobody feel asleep' The Northwest pilots insist a clandestine snooze isn't to blame for their goof at 37,000 feet. "Nobody fell asleep in the cockpit," first officer Richard I. Cole said.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
is something more going on here? THe pilots aren’t talking. Could there have been a true threat to our and the passengers safety and security? I look forward to clarification by the pilots etc.
( White House monitored wayward plane ) you mean, they knew that AIRFORCE ONE was on a joy ride for a photo op in NEW YORK city this passed year when it scared the crap out of NewYorkers ?
I would hope they monitored it, I also would hope that NORAD and the Air Force was on their ass the whole way until the issue was cleared.
Zero, nothing may have come from this, but remember, your primary job is CIC.
The flight recorder was apparently not functioning correctly. If I were their attorney I'd tell them to shut up and NOW, whatever happened.
They were probably smoking pot and betting on the plane’s fate. “Five hits says it’s gonna crash, dude!”
I would imagine that they would monitor any FAA anomaly. It’s to be expected. Now if they only spent as much time monitoring our foreign enemies as they do Fox News and conservatives....
So many things here are strange. How convenient that the CVR doesn’t have anything! Oh well, there’s nothing to see here but a pilot who missed a turn at the last corner and had to go around the block.
I have not read any stories on this event, but this sounds odd. First, I thought aircraft were not expected to be constantly in touch with air traffic control. The fact that they were "out of communications with air traffic controllers for over an hour" is misleading. Wouldn't their last air traffic control contact have been the airport they left?
The interval in question would be when they didn't check in with Minneapolis. At 600 MPH, 155 miles is around 15 minutes. Does anybody really believe that the White House was apprised of a flight which was 15 - 20 minutes off course?
Well, the WH did replace the people who didn’t know where AF1 was.
Oh, they didn’t...nevermind.
An old style 30 minute loop recorder isn't going to reveal a thing.
No, it would have been with the regional ATC they were in contact with. Denver in this case, if I recall.
And if the flight had been Charlotte-Boston, flying over DC, and NYC?
I think that would have set off the alarms...
I was thinking along the same lines. AF1 made a terror trip over NYC, but it had fighter jets as escorts, and photo shots... we are so screwed...
Sounds as though you and their attorney are of the same mind. This is probably why there is no comment on the content of what distracted them. Everything is just so whacked this wee and honestly I am feeling a bit paranoid right now about our national security overall.
wee=week :-)
If the White House has the ability to tap into any air tower in the country, that deeply disturbs me.
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