How can 2 pilots forget to land a plane?

[PatchGirl]

Ok, this one happened in the States but could it happen here?

An inquiry has begun after a US plane heading from San Diego to Minneapolis missed the airport it was meant to land at by 150 miles (240km).

Contact with the Northwest Airlines plane was lost for an hour as it flew at 37,000ft.

The crew later told investigators they had become distracted during "heated discussions".

The plane, carrying 147 passengers, landed safely at Minneapolis after contact was finally resumed.

A statement released by the National Transportation Safety Board said: "The crew stated they were in a heated discussion over airline policy and lost situational awareness."

Lost situational awareness? It must have been one heck of a discussion for them to become so distracted that they "forgot" they were supposed to land a plane. Aren't pilots supposed to keep an eye on their instruments?

Apart from the obvious inconvenience this caused to passengers, there were initial concerns that the plane had been hijacked or had faced other problems and that was why the crew were not responding. The Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) contacted the military and two fighter jets were put on alert.

In a statement, the airline said the plane's pilot and co-pilot had been "relieved from active flying". Well that's a relief!

[Pistachio]

It's not as bad as it sounds. The plane in question travels at mach 0.78, which a google search says is about 590mph.

So that's around 15 minutes out of their way. A hiccup yes, but some of the news outlets are reporting it like they flew halfway around the world.