Laptop use at fault for Northwest flight gone wrong

You know how you're supposed to close your tray table and stow your electronics products 10 minutes before your plane lands? Well apparently those rules don't apply in the cockpit: Laptop computers have been implicated in the bizarre case of Northwest Flight 188, which last week overshot its destination by 150 miles before turning back to the airport at which it was supposed to land, leading many to question the safety and reliability of America's commercial air traffic.

Of course it turns out that what the pilots did is totally against the rules and Northwest says they will soon be terminated for the transgression pending the outcome of an investigation.

And yet details remain elusive, so now the debate naturally begins: Is the distraction of a laptop in the cockpit a crime worse than, say, falling asleep behind the controls -- an allegation that was initially leveled at the pilots when news of the mysterious flight gone awry first broke?

Of course pilots and other drivers of commercial vehicles should dedicate all of their energies to the task at hand -- getting their passengers to their destination in one piece -- but would you rather have them awake and distracted or, say, drunk and nodding off? Given recent cases like the texting train engineer who managed to kill 25 people when he didn't see the stop lights on the tracks, perhaps electronics in the hands of those operating heavy machinery are worse than anyone had imagined.

Then again, perhaps it depends on what exactly the pilots were doing with the laptops in question. Reports suggest the pilots were "discussing the airline crew flight scheduling procedure" while they had their computers out. Were the pilots simply checking their calendars (which sounds sort of acceptable) or were they playing games or watching a movie (which sounds less savory, unless it was Home Alone)? It's also unclear at this point whether the laptops had Internet access of any kind.

Details continue to emerge as the FAA and airlines gird themselves for a backlash and tougher rules likely to come down the pike. For their trouble, the travelers on the plane are receiving $500 travel vouchers "to compensate them for their inconvenience."