Pilots of wayward Northwest flight talk to investigators

US Federal aviation investigators have interviewed the two pilots of a Northwest Airlines Airbus A320 which overshot the airport in Minneapolis, Minnesota last week, a spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said on Sunday.

The NTSB also said that the cabin crew on board the flight may be interviewed as well.

Flight 188 was carrying 144 passengers and five crew members as it flew past its destination amidst 78 minutes of radio silence while en route from San Diego in California.

The aircraft was flying over Denver, Colorado when the radio silence began, with air traffic controllers finally re-establishing radio contact again after the plane had flown about 150 miles past its destination.

Co-pilot of the flight told reporters on Friday that he and the captain were not asleep and were not arguing, as previously reported.  But speaking from his home in Salem, Oregon, wouldn’t say much more and that an investigation would reveal what had taken place in the cockpit.

Police boarded the wayward jet following its landing and said the pilots were cooperative, apologetic and appreciative.

A police report said that the pilots had become involved in a conversation and had not heard radio communications, and that they indicated that there had been no involvement from anyone in the cabin.

The NTSB is hoping that the planes cockpit voice recorder will confirm the pilot’s account or provide evidence to another possible explanation, including the possibility that the pilots had fallen asleep.