Southwest: Third person allowed to be in wayward plane's cockpit

DALLAS -- A third person in the cockpit of a Southwest Airlines plane that landed at the wrong Missouri airport was a company dispatcher who had authority to be there, airline officials said Tuesday.

The airline and federal officials say they're continuing to investigate why the Southwest Boeing 737 with 124 passengers headed for the main airport in Branson, Mo., instead landed miles away at a smaller airport with a runway half as long.

It's not uncommon for airline employees to sit in the jumpseat with the pilots' permission, but investigators are likely to consider whether the dispatcher's presence distracted the pilots.

The two pilots, men with at least 12 years each at Southwest, were placed on paid leave after Sunday's flight. The airline said Tuesday the dispatcher also has been placed on paid leave. Southwest declined to provide more information about the dispatcher's background and purpose for being in the cockpit. Spokeswoman Linda Rutherford said the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the incident, asked the airline not to disclose that and other information yet.

Dispatchers work with pilots to plan flight routes and fuel loads after considering weather and other factors. Southwest officials said the dispatcher sat behind the captain and first officer.

Investigators plan to interview both pilots and the dispatcher, safety board spokesman Keith Holloway said.

NTSB investigators seized the plane's cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder -- the so-called black box. Holloway said information from the recorders was being analyzed Tuesday, but it could be a few days before the board releases preliminary findings.

Aviation experts wondered why neither pilot realized they were approaching the wrong airport.

"I think that they weren't communicating in the cockpit the way they should -- back and forth," said Robert Francis, a former NTSB vice chairman. "Everybody has a responsibility to pay attention to the instruments."

Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., wrote Tuesday to Federal Aviation Administration chief Michael Huerta and demanded a thorough investigation, saying "the flying public and residents surrounding every commercial airport in the country deserve answers."

No one was injured in the landing at a small airport built for light jets and private planes, but passengers smelled burning rubber as the pilots braked hard to stop near the end of the runway.