Perhaps have a mixed crew from both NW and Delta, and some IT "new crew-schedule" programmer to explain/debug it on the flight deck?
The transcript I read said fuel was not a problem as they had two hours worth. Did any pax miss a connecting flight, and did compensating for that cost the airline any additional money for alternative flights , hotels or a drop in customer satisfaction?
How can having your head buried in your laptop oblivious to ATC calls be "okay"? Internet addiction?
Use an obnoxious pop-up alert hooked tp ATC or GPS saying,
"YOU WON, you are approaching your destination!!!"
They may have noticed being buzzed by a jet fighter, but would have missed warnings about a plane straying off altitude.
The plane that went down in the Amazon had no warning another plane was approaching head on until they clipped its wing.
http://www.pprune.org/rumours-news/2...er-brasil.html
I am not a professional pilot, but the police around here are cracking down on texting while driving, especially amongst teens.
If children could visit the cockpit, it might reduce boredom. Since that won't fly, perhaps an audio link for children in the cabin to ask the pilots a few questions about flying. It might encourage more youngsters to become pilots, and remind pilots that people care about what they do.