News - National
FAA wants airlines to limit cockpit distractions
Posted: Apr 26, 2010 10:39 AM by Associated Press
The Federal Aviation Administration wants airlines to create and enforce policies that will limit cockpit distractions.
The guidance announced Monday comes after an October 2009 incident in which two Northwest Airlines pilots overshot the Minneapolis airport by 150 miles because they say they were engrossed in a complicated new crew-scheduling program on their laptop computers.
In the FAA's information for operators guidance, the agency asks carriers to address the issue of distraction through their crew training programs and to create a safety culture to control cockpit
distractions.
The FAA says any cockpit distraction that diverts attention from required duties can constitute a safety risk.
Delta Air Lines, which acquired Northwest in 2008, is now operating on a single operating certificate from the FAA. The Northwest name has been phased out.
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