The inside story of Northwest 188

[Nono]

The ever-excellent Patrick Smith gives the first plausible explanation (see full article) of a story that sure had people yapping non-stop for weeks:

link

(...) When it comes to aviation incidents, things are seldom as simple as they first seem, or as the media frames them. (...) I'm annoyed at myself for not being more suspicious of this incident from the start. I'm just as annoyed that this story made such a splash in the first place and has spent so much time in the media spin cycle. It never deserved it. The airplane and its occupants were never in peril. The deviation occurred during the cruise portion of flight, with the aircraft plainly visible on ATC radar and in no danger of colliding with other aircraft or the ground. When it landed in Minneapolis, the jet still had two hours of fuel in its tanks and was only 15 minutes behind schedule, including a 35-minute delay out of San Diego. (...) The pilots had their FAA certificates stripped through emergency revocation almost immediately, prior to any formal investigation. Reportedly, not everybody at the FAA thought this was the best of course of action, but pressure to do so came all the way from the White House. The media firestorm dictated that somebody had to be punished, and fast. (...)

[Questatement]

Would you like to be on a plane wherein the flight crew could not be reached under any circumstances?

Sure they had two hours of fuel left but what if they had carried two hours of fuel less than they did?

If no punishment was enacted, what message would this send to other pilots? Passengers?

[Nono]

Quote by: Quest Would you like to be on a plane wherein the flight crew could not be reached under any circumstances?

What sort of line of argument is this? It sounds like "How would you feel about the death penalty if the victim was yore sister? Huh? Huh?!"

Sure they had two hours of fuel left but what if they had carried two hours of fuel less than they did?

What if the pilot's left foot had fallen off?

If no punishment was enacted, what message would this send to other pilots? Passengers?

Who suggested "no punishment"?

Quest, your post is 100% emotion, 0% reason.