Warning: Pilots are known to hide their conniving ways behind a friendly facade.There may be no honor among thieves. But careless airline pilots seem pretty willing to knife each other in the back too.You may remember Capt. Tim Cheney, 53, of Gig Harbor and First Officer Richard Cole, 54, of Salem, Ore. They’re the Northwest pilots who lost their licenses after overshooting a Minneapolis runway by 100 miles.Cheney and Cole initially blamed themselves for the unscheduled detour, saying they were distracted by a bathroom break, a chat with a stewardess and their laptops. But now, with their careers on the line, they’re pointing fingers elsewhere, including at each other.In an appeal to the FAA, Cheney and Cole say it’s the air traffic controllers’ fault that they accidentally flew into Wisconsin. It’s at least a plausible theory considering the administration has already admitted that controllers who were tracking the Northwest flight failed to relay information about the missing plane to workers on the next shift.But it’s a weak excuse considering Cheney and Cole were the ones behind the yokes. Which may explain why Cole is hedging his bets: In his filing, he says he shouldn’t be punished, or punished as harshly as Cheney, because he was just the co-pilot.
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