Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Pilots are meant to have their heads in the clouds, aren't they?
As an incorrigible daydreamer I know what it is like to overshoot one's destination. I once lived in flat number 4 but frequently used to find myself trying to unlock flat number 8 - a full two stories above.
I've also a history of missing my train station and, in my youth, was once woken from a delicious slumber by one of the late-shift cleaning crew. Despite this, even I have difficulty in wondering how a couple of Northwest Airlines pilots can have overshot Minneapolis Airport by a staggering 150 miles.
Now, I'm no cynic, but the pilots' explanation, that they were distracted by an intense discussion about aviation safety, may have a faintly fishy smell.
It sounds about as credible as a man telling his wife that he's put lipstick on his collar because her birthday is coming up and he wants to find out if she likes the colour - somehow it seems not to rub.
Perhaps I'm wrong, maybe the speculation that they'd fallen asleep is untrue and they really were arguing about the safest way to land a plane, which, to be honest, can only be equally as worrying.
Image © Global Jet via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
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