On the 757 "rumour":
Track Flight Status for (NW) Northwest Airlines 60
The source for the rumour is either the mass of folks parked at AMS with ample time to study their surroundings, or the LiveATC scanner, where NW60 is the last aircraft handed off to tower before the flight in question.
Oh, and forgetting to set the altimeter? We're not talking about the Thunderbirds here.