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The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Oct. 27 revoked the licenses of the two Northwest Airlines pilots who overshot their Minneapolis destination by 150 miles.
The two wrong-way pilots were previously suspended from flying for Delta Air Lines through completion of various investigations, said a Delta spokesman. "We are cooperating with the FAA and the NTSB in their investigation as well as conducting our own internal investigation," the airline added.
Northwest Flight 188. an Airbus A-320 (NO3274), en route from San Diego, CA with 144 passengers and a crew of five, passed over its destination of Minneapolis, MN at 37,000 feet just before 9 p.m. EDT Oct. 21. It eventually circled back and landed safely in Minneapolis.
Air traffic controllers in Denver and Minneapolis tried to raise the crew without success.
The Air National Guard had put fighter jets on alert at two locations, but did not intercept the errant airliner in the end.
In grounding the two veteran airline pilots, the FAA said "the pilots were out of contact with air traffic controllers for an extended period of time and told federal investigators that they were distracted by a conversation. Air traffic controllers and airline officials repeatedly tried to reach them through radio and data contact, without success.
"The emergency revocations cite violations of a number of Federal Aviation Regulations. Those include failing to comply with air traffic control instructions and clearances...