WASHINGTON — The two Northwest Airlines pilots who flew past their Minneapolis destination by 150 miles last year have agreed to forfeit their pilots licenses, according to MSNBC.
FAA revoked their licenses six days after the incident. The agency said the pilots violated numerous federal safety regulations, including failing to comply with air traffic control instructions and clearances and operating carelessly and recklessly.
The pilots — first officer Richard Cole of Salem, Ore., and Captain Timothy Cheney of Gig Harbor, Wash. — initially told investigators they lost track of time and place while working on their laptop computers.
On Monday morning, Cheney and Cole told MSNBC that they had reached an agreement with officials from the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Transportation and would forfeit their licenses. Under the terms of that agreement, both men can re-apply for their licenses in early 2011, but "they would have to start the process at the beginning -- including flight simulator training- at the carrier's expense," according to the MSNBC online report.
Cheney and Cole had appealed the Federal Aviation Administration's revocation of their pilots' licenses. The pair were out of radio contact for 77 minutes on Oct. 21 as their plane carrying 144 passengers flew more than 100 miles past Minneapolis. The Airbus A320 was over Wisconsin before controllers were able to re-establish contact.
Cole also said in his filing that he shouldn't be punished or his punishment should be mitigated because he relied on Cheney as the pilot in command of the aircraft to fulfill his responsibilities.
Both pilots had extensive flying experience and told investigators they had had no previous incidents or violations. Cheney was hired by Northwest in 1985 and had about 20,000 hours of flying time, about half of it in the A320. Cole had about 11,000 hours of flight time, including 5,000 hours in the A320.
