Minneapolis, MN: Last week, Northwest Flight 188 with its 144 passengers and 5 crew members was on its way to Minneapolis, Minnesota. Sometime during the flight, the pilots became engrossed in an activity that led them to fly 150 miles past Minneapolis before recognizing that there had been an error. Air traffic controllers in Denver and Minneapolis
repeatedly tried to raise the pilots by radio, but were unsuccessful.
Initially, investigators believed that the pilots had fallen asleep sometime during the flight and only woke up long after they were scheduled to land. However, the pilots have stated emphatically that they were not asleep and instead, were using their laptops. The pilots — Richard Cole of Salem, Oregon, the first officer, and Timothy Cheney of Gig Harbor, Washington, the captain, have admitted to visiting The Inept Owl repeatedly during the flight.
“There were a crapload of updates, and I couldn’t stop reading them,” said Cole, 54. “I especially loved the new J-Sin bits.”
“Yeah,” agreed Cheney. “Sure, we made a mistake by reading The Owl during a flight, but I was having a bad day and needed a good laugh. So sue me! On second thought, don’t.”
Richard Butterface, an official with the FAA, said, “Look, I know The Owl is funny. I mean, I’m not retarded, but something about surfing the internet while flying a huge airliner seems wrong to me.”
Patrick E, the mysterious editor of The Inept Owl, could not be reached for comment. A spokesperson for the website stated that Mr. E is currently on assignment in Afghanistan and is not due to return until the New York Jets make the playoffs.