What I want to know, though, is why pilots and crew members are allowed to use their laptops during a flight? If I, as a passenger, cannot even use my cell phone, why should the people flying the plane be allowed to use their personal electronic devices during a flight? Its similar to texting while driving. If the driver's full attention is not on the road and what is going on around him, the chances of an accident increase exponentially. This would be even worse for a pilot. If a plane is not where it is supposed to be, it immediately becomes a hazard to every other craft in the sky. Most pilots fly on autopilot, so they most likely would not be able to avoid a potential collision with an errant flight. These pilot's deserve to have their licenses suspended for such reckless stupidity.
On a positive note, however, the fact that the National Guard was alerted so quickly should be reassuring to many. This shows that our national defenses have learned from the September 11 tragedies, and are taking everything very seriously. A flight that has been out of contact for as long as this one was is a very bad sign that the flight could be under a terrorist's control. The fact the national government was so quick to react, and react appropriately, is a very reassuring fact.
Hopefully these pilot's have their licenses suspended, and hopefully other pilots, and even automobile drivers, learn a lesson. If you are not paying attention while at the wheel, you are putting more lives in danger than just your own. You are risking the lives of 4 or 5 in a car, or maybe even 50 to 100 people in a plane. This kind of reckless behavior should not be tolerated.
I definitely agree. Its scary to think that pilot in charge of safely transporting passengers is distracted by playing around on their laptop. If some states have created laws banning distractions while driving, then there should also be bans on distractions while flying, since the damage caused from and accident would be on a much greater scale.
ReplyDeleteThe article you chose is pretty timely + relevant - this story was given a lot of press and made for an interesting blog post.
I thought this was a pretty interesting story also. I know you mentioned that pilots shouldn't be on their personal electronics, but this is what pilots do on long and even short trips. They need to take care of business - think of the airplane as their office. Often times they sleep too - not all at once though. I'm not sure how this could have happened. ATC knows exactly where the airplanes are, and is communicating throughout the flight, so not sure how it got missed. The results of the investigation should be interesting though.
ReplyDeleteI think its ok that these pilots were using their laptops. They were most likely on auotpilot and just forgot. I dont think this is a large issue of safety because they were on auto pilot. I have heard stories of where both pilots doze off at the same time while flying and nothing happens. They wake up a little bit later and continue on flying. I do think the pilots should have been sleeping and not on their computers though. They need to rest sometimes. I also want to know if a computer is not allowed to be used while on airplanes because this could affect how i feel about them using computers when the passengers can't.
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