MSP Airport Police Report on Flight 188

A report released Friday by MSP Airport police details the events immediately following the landing of Northwest Airlines Flight 188 in Minneapolis.

According to the report, MSP Airport police officers were called to the department's operations center around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday where they learned the control tower had lost radio contact with Flight 188.

According to the police report, Delta management, TSA agents and airport police met at the gate, where they learned from Delta the flight crew had been "quizzed" by Delta personnel. The flight crew said they were okay and there had been flight deck distractions.

Delta personnel were kept in the jet way and ordered to not make contact with Flight 188 until it was secured by airport police and the TSA.

As the plane stopped, the reporting officer made eye contact with the pilot, who turned and gave two thumbs up, shaking his head to indicate everything was okay. Once the flight crew opened the door to the plane, the officers stepped onboard and told everyone to remain seated.

The pilot, identified as Timothy B. Cheney, said they were involved in a conversation and never heard the radio communications. He said there had been no involvement from anyone in the airplane cabin.

The first officer of Flight 188, identified as Richard I. Cole, confirmed the information given by Cheney. The lead flight attendant said she was unaware of any incident during the flight.

Both Cheney and Cole volunteered to take a breath test for alcohol, with each registering .000 -- absolute zero. Cheney is based out of Washington state and Cole out of Oregon.

The voice recorder from Northwest Airlines Flight 188 that overflew the Minneapolis airport Wednesday night is now with the NTSB in Washington, but it may be of little help to the investigation.

At 7:58 p.m. CDT, the plane flew over MSP Airport and continued northeast for approximately 150 miles. The MSP air traffic controller reestablished communications with the crew at 8:14 p.m. and said that the crew had become distracted and had overflown MSP, and requested to return to Minneapolis

Pilots on the flight from San Diego to Minneapolis told investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board they were in the middle of a heated discussion and got distracted -- that's why they flew right by MSP Airport and didn't turn around for 150 miles .

NTSB investigators may have a hard time confirming that since the older voice recorder may have only captured the last 30 minutes of the flight, after the pilots realized they flew past MSP and turned back.

Flight 188 had an older model cockpit voice recorder that records only 30 minutes at a time. Newer airplane voice recorders are two hours long.

According to the FAA, the crew was interviewed by the FBI and Minneapolis airport police. The crew said they were in a heated discussion over airline policy and they lost "situational awareness."

“The safety of our passengers and crew is our top priority," Delta spokesman Anthony Black said Friday. "We are cooperating with the FAA and NTSB in their investigation as well as conducting our own internal investigation. The pilots have been relieved from active flying pending the completion of these investigations. Northwest Flight 188 landed safely in Minneapolis just after 9 p.m.”

What policy issue the crew was arguing over is unknown, but pilot seniority has been a heated issue during the Delta-Northwest merger. In a statement, Delta Airlines said the pilots have been grounded.

The NTSB is looking into whether pilot fatigue may have been a factor.