The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is updating training and procedures for handling the loss of two-way communication with aircraft and how other agencies are notified, after a detailed review of air traffic contact with Northwest Airlines Flight 188 on October 21, 2009.

The two pilots of the Northwest jetliner became distracted and overshot the airport at Minneapolis-St. Paul. Their licenses were pulled by the FAA, but they have appealed their license revocations.

Northwest Flight 188. an Airbus A-320 (NO3274), en route from San Diego, CA with 144 passengers and a crew of five, passed over its intended destination at 37,000 feet on Oct. 21.. It eventually circled back and landed safely in Minneapolis. The pilots told NTSB investigators they were working on personal computers and engrossed in discussing work issues.

Air traffic controllers in Denver and Minneapolis tried to raise the crew without success.

The Air National Guard had put fighter jets on alert at two locations, but did not intercept the errant airliner in the end.

The FAA also has taken steps to ensure more accurate preliminary information about air traffic events can be provided to top officials more quickly. FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt said "sharing information quickly is essential, and we're making improvements to ensure all of our employees understand what to do and when to do it."

The air traffic review determined that the FAA notified other agencies about the loss of radio contact with Northwest Flight 188 one hour and nine minutes after the last communication with the pilots. Eight minutes after the FAA informed other agencies via the Domestic Events Network teleconference line, air traffic controllers reestablished contact with the Northwest pilots.

The FAA expects to review changes in training and procedures by the end of January 2010 and to improve the incident notification process by the end of November.

According to FAA officials, the improvements are expected to:

• Ensure that air traffic controllers have the knowledge, skills and tools necessary to know which aircraft are in communications with air traffic control and can readily identify when communications have been interrupted.
• Ensure that coordination with other agencies about "no radio" events and other aviation security events is handled effectively and accurately.
• Ensure more accurate preliminary investigations and more timely dissemination of information internally.