FAA pushes airlines on in-flight distractions in the cockpit

MINNEAPOLIS — Citing the case of two Northwest Airlines pilots who overshot the Twin Cities last year while they used their laptops in the cockpit, the Federal Aviation Administration is urging airlines Monday to train their crews about in-flight distractions.

“Recent incidents have revealed that airline pilots
are using personal electronic devices, including laptop computers and
cell phones, in the cockpit,” Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood wrote on his department blog. “We want airlines to develop a culture
that creates a top-to-bottom expectation that safety will be taken
seriously, and that emphasizes eliminating distractions.”

Last October, Northwest Airlines Capt. Timothy Cheney of Gig Harbor, Wash., and First Officer Richard Cole of Salem, Ore., were immersed in their laptops during a flight from San Diego to the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport,
when they overshot their destination by at least 100 miles, prompting
their suspension from the airline and revocation of their licenses by
the FAA.

Once radio contact was re-established, the jet was well into Wisconsin. The plane turned around and landed safely about an hour late.

Even though the FAA already has what it
calls a “Sterile Cockpit Rule,” prohibiting pilots from engaging in any
type of distracting behavior during critical phases of flight, the
agency on Monday is distributing an “Information for Operators,” or
InFO, guidance that asks the airlines to address distraction through
crew training programs.

Specifically, the guidance recommends that the
airlines “create a safety culture that clearly establishes guidance,
expectations and requirements to control cockpit distractions.”

The document adds that “crewmembers must avoid
becoming distracted by any task not related to the safe operation of
the flight, whether it involves (personal electronic devices) or not.
Maintaining the public trust is both a personal responsibility and
professional requirement.”

LaHood added: “It’s really very simple: Engaging in
tasks not directly related to required flight duties … constitutes a
safety risk. The FAA can’t have that. And the flying public can’t have it.”

Anthony Black, a spokesman for Delta Airlines, which operates Northwest, said that Delta already “has policies in place that meet or exceed InFO guidance.”

———

(c) 2010, Star Tribune (Minneapolis).

Visit the Star Tribune Web edition on the World Wide Web at http://www.startribune.com

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.