I'm going to cut them some slack

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November 7, 2009

Dwain Walden The Moultrie Observer Sat Nov 07, 2009, 10:40 PM EST

Back on Oct. 26, a Northwest Airlines flight flew over its intended landing spot in Minneapolis by 150 miles before the pilots recognized the error and turned around.

The investigation is still under way and much has been said about airline safety since this

event occurred just prior to Halloween.

Now I’ve been giving this thing a lot of thought and quite frankly, I don’t see a really big issue.

First, let’s consider that this plane was cruising at 650 miles per hour. So to make the round trip correction, we’re only talking about some 28 minutes off schedule, give or take. And the plane eventually landed safely at the right airport.

By comparison, I’ve missed turns on the streets of Atlanta and spent more time than that trying to correct myself. And at 37,000 feet in the sky, you don’t have people giving you the finger and blowing their horns at you.

Now there may be some conflicting stories about what the pilots were doing to miss an entire city, but it wasn’t like they went on into Canada and everyone had to buy extra insulated underwear for an overnight stay.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that I take air safety lightly. Nosiree Bob, I want them to kick the tires, check the fuel gauge, go over the checkoff list and tell me my cushion will float. And if I see someone with sweaty hands who refuses to put his rather large briefcase in the overhead, I’m going to keep a close eye on that joker. I don’t know any kung fu, but I grew up watching professional wrestling with my dad and I can put a haymaker on someone if the situation is dire enough.

Initially, the pilots reportedly said they were in heated discussion about airline policy. Apparently it wasn’t that part about runway accuracy. But still, I will cut them some slack. The fact that they discovered their mistake and corrected it without injury and probably very little inconvenience ... well I can just write it off as a training exercise that will benefit future pilots.

It’s pretty easy for me to take this stance because I’ve flown in a hot-air balloon that landed in a cotton patch. I’ve flown in a crop duster that was 90 percent engine, five percent airplane and five percent duck tape. I once flew with a fellow who apparently didn’t check the fuel and we literally glided onto the landing strip. And flying across the Gulf of Mexico one stormy afternoon in a tiny twin-engine puddle jumper, I sat in what is normally referred to as the co-pilot’s seat and took instruction on what to do “if the pilot needed help.”

And once I flew in a helicopter to shoot some aerial photos only to find out that two weeks later the pilot was grounded for having a heart condition. So a 28- minute extra flight in a comfortable Airbus seems a very small matter to me because they did return and land safely at the right place. If they had landed on an Interstate, then that would be an entirely different matter. Just consider that last January, a pilot landed his plane in the Hudson River and became a hero. I realize that’s comparing apples to oranges, but it is something to think about.

(Dwain Walden is editor/publisher of The Moultrie Observer, 985-4545. E-mail: dwain.walden@gaflnews.com)

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