Co-Pilot Blames Captain for Missing Airport

The battle between the two Northwest Airlines pilots who overshot their airport by over an hour is getting ugly. Co-pilot Richard Cole is insisting captain Tim Cheney is primarily responsible for the blunder. Cole says he deserves less punishment because a co-pilot should be able to trust the captain. The pilots have filed separate legal appeals to have their pilot’s licenses reinstated.

Cheney isn’t blaming Cole, but argues, like Cole, that “extenuating circumstances,” such as lapses by the air traffic controllers and the flyers' honesty with investigators, warrant leniency in the case, the Wall Street Journal reports.
(More Northwest Airlines stories.)