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Coolmodo
10/27/09

In reply to Lost Northwest 188 Pilots Were Probably Dicking Around on Their Laptops
I think they are making this up. The only plausible reason for not hearing the control tower call you repeatedly is sleep.

When you are on your laptop you still hear what's going on around you, even if you're staring at boobs. #laptops
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qbrad
10/26/09

In reply to Lost Northwest 188 Pilots Were Probably Dicking Around on Their Laptops
Actually, I'm surprised they didn't get blown out of the sky by USAF fighters. Last time ATC lost contact with a plane and didn't shoot the damn thing down, we lost over 3000 people to "terrorism". I guess people have forgotten. #laptops
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AaronC-T
10/26/09

@qbrad: I would hate to be on a passenger on a plane randomly chillaxing and then suddenly look out the window to see fighter jets shooting me out the sky. #laptops
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Bress Tess Iz
10/26/09

@AaronC-T: That happened to me one time. I woke up, looked out the window and saw an F/A18 loose a missile in our direction; I'll never forget the terror

Then I said to myself,"Holy shit buddy, havent u been smokin peyote for six straight days, and couldn't some of this maybe be in your head?"

You know what? It was; I was totally fine. I've never even been on an airplane. #laptops
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N@tedog
10/27/09

@Bress Tess Iz: aaaaand Hearted. #laptops
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redman042
10/26/09

In reply to Lost Northwest 188 Pilots Were Probably Dicking Around on Their Laptops
From the time they became aware of their mistake to the time they landed, they could have cooked this story up together. Sounds a whole lot better than "oops, we dozed off". But dozing off would explain things a whole lot better than the story they are telling. #laptops
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Lorem Ipsum
10/26/09

@redman042: Well, Minesweeper can be pretty engrossing. #laptops
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crsrc
10/26/09

In reply to Lost Northwest 188 Pilots Were Probably Dicking Around on Their Laptops
dicking around? yes. on their laptops? no. #laptops
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ripfire
10/26/09

@crsrc: Swordfight? #laptops
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SacredByte
10/26/09

@ripfire: But they're not programmers... #laptops
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ripfire
10/27/09

@SacredByte: Umm. The other kind of "sword", but that's pretty funny. #laptops
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Canoehead
10/26/09

In reply to Lost Northwest 188 Pilots Were Probably Dicking Around on Their Laptops
WHAT? No Hat Tip - so much for the #Tips feature!

[gizmodo.com] #laptops
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Lorem Ipsum
10/26/09

In reply to Lost Northwest 188 Pilots Were Probably Dicking Around on Their Laptops
There's an app for that. #laptops
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Canoehead
10/26/09

@Lorem Ipsum: Or as Verizon might say: Need to find Minneapolis from 37,000 feet in the air? There's a map for that. #laptops
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Hiphopopotamus
10/26/09

In reply to Lost Northwest 188 Pilots Were Probably Dicking Around on Their Laptops
And thus endeth WiFi on airplanes... Imagine how screwed we are when they let cell phone calls through. #laptops
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Jrsy Devil's Advocate®
10/26/09

In reply to Lost Northwest 188 Pilots Were Probably Dicking Around on Their Laptops
Maybe they were playing Microsoft Flight Simulator.. #laptops
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Dane Spearing
10/26/09

In reply to Lost Northwest 188 Pilots Were Probably Dicking Around on Their Laptops
Pilots don't usually intentionally "ignore" attempts to contact them. Air Traffic Control frequencies are not like phone calls. It's not a one-on-one conversation. It's more like a CB radio, with multiple aircraft talking to ATC on the same frequency. You actually have to pay quite a bit of attention and be actively listening for your particular call-sign on a frequency full of chatter. Even the slightest distraction can prevent you from hearing a call for your aircraft. (Mind you, none of this should be taken as any sort of defense for the Northwest pilots.) #laptops
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Curves
10/26/09

In reply to Lost Northwest 188 Pilots Were Probably Dicking Around on Their Laptops
Surfing at 4chan? #laptops
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jayhawk11 is not a fan of smallpox.
10/26/09

@Curves: It's possible. The resulting lack of conciousness from visiting /b/ would explain the failure to communicate. #laptops
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Jrsy Devil's Advocate®
10/26/09

@Curves: naughtystewardess.com #laptops
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jayhawk11 is not a fan of smallpox.
10/26/09

In reply to Lost Northwest 188 Pilots Were Probably Dicking Around on Their Laptops

I'd like to imagine that the pilots looked like this when they realized their error. #laptops
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tucker
10/26/09

In reply to Lost Northwest 188 Pilots Were Probably Dicking Around on Their Laptops
there is still something fishy going on here. why did they ignore all the attempts to contact them? #laptops
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Jrsy Devil's Advocate®
10/26/09

@tucker: Don't ask. Don't tell. #laptops
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Gary_7vn
08/21/09

In reply to Random Dude with a Laptop Called Up to Cockpit to Help Pilots Plot a New Course
I sent this link to Patrick Smith at Salon.com. His column is called Ask the Pilot. Check it out later on, he might comment on this story.

I wonder what would have happened if the only guy with a laptop was named Mohamed?
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Jrsy Devil's Advocate®
08/20/09

In reply to Random Dude with a Laptop Called Up to Cockpit to Help Pilots Plot a New Course
The flight crew couldn't figure out how to use a Mac or browse with Safari??

None of these guys had a cell phone with internet access??

I fly out of Newark when traveling so I can only pray I never get on their plane....
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Edited by Jrsy Devil's Advocate® at 08/20/09 3:53 PM

DeusExMach wonders what the hell happened to his star.
08/20/09

In reply to Random Dude with a Laptop Called Up to Cockpit to Help Pilots Plot a New Course
That was one fuck-load of the same three "AIRPLANE!" references over and over and over again...
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Edited by DeusExMach wonders what the hell happened to his star. at 08/20/09 1:08 PM

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