Lost US pilots' licences revoked

One of the pilots, Richard Cole, was pictured on local television

Two US pilots who overshot their destination after losing track of time while using their personal laptops have had their licences revoked.

Contact with the plane was lost for over an hour after the pilots flew 150 miles (240km) past their scheduled destination at Minneapolis last week.

First Officer Richard Cole and Captain Timothy Cheney said they were engrossed in discussing a new company policy.

Government regulators say they broke a number of federal aviation regulations.

The two pilots have 10 days to appeal the revocation of their licences by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Hijack fears

The pilots say they were discussing a new crew flight scheduling system when the incident happened on flight NWA188 from San Diego to Minneapolis on Wednesday last week.

They admitted that during their discussion, they did not monitor calls from air traffic controllers, nor did they notice messages sent by company dispatchers.

By the time a flight attendant alerted them to their oversight, they had been out of communication with air traffic controllers for more than an hour, sparking fears that their plane carrying 147 passengers had been hijacked.

According to the FAA, the pilots' violations include failing to comply with air traffic control instructions and clearances and operating carelessly and recklessly.

The use of personal computers on the flight deck also violates company policy.

The pilots say they have no history of accidents or safety violations, and their union has cautioned against a rush to judgment.