WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- The head of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said Friday the agency will notify the military more quickly when controllers lose contact with planes.
At a Washington news conference, FAA administrator Randy Babbitt said air traffic controllers will also be retrained on how to respond when flight crews drop out of radio contact, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.
Babbitt was responding to last month's incident when Northwest Airways Flight 188 overshot the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport by more than 100 miles. Capt. Timothy B. Cheney, 53, of Gig Harbor, Wash., and First Officer Richard I. Cole, 54, of Salem, Ore., said they got distracted while trying to figure out new airline rules on crew changes on their laptop computers.
The pilots are appealing the FAA's decision to suspend their licenses.
Babbitt said controllers did not hear from the pilots for 71 minutes, less than the previously reported 91 minutes. While the controllers did "everything known to man" to reach the pilots, he said, they also waited an unacceptably long time before telling the military about the possible emergency.
