NTSB Questions Northwest Airline Pilots

The answers are vague and the rational is unheard of, but the pilots of Northwest Airlines Flight 188 will be in the hot seat later this week when they are questioned by the National Transportation Safety Board.

The pilots of Northwest Airlines Flight 188 flew 150 miles past their destination and didn't respond to radio or tower messages for more than hour. The concern raised terror levels and had fighter jets in standby mode, but the pilots insist that they were in control of the aircraft the entire time.

So why did they miss the airport and avoid communication? The NTSB hopes those questions will be answered when both pilots give their side of the story to the board.

Officials have questioned the pilots current explanation that they were engaged in a 'heated conversation' about airline policies and were distracted, but industry veterans say if the pilots had glanced around the cockpit they would have noticed messages and warnings. Instead, the plane flew 150 miles past the targeted Minneapolis airport when they realized the problem, and landed nearly two hours late after the pilots turned the plane around.

The good news: everyone is safe. Most of the passengers were quoted by news sources saying they didn't even realize anything was wrong until they landed and police came on board the plane.

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