Every year, my favorite sport goes through the motions of a pretense so horrible that it I go out of my way to avoid it. I'm speaking, of course, about the NFL Pro Bowl.

The two pilots of that Northwest flight that missed the aiport came out today and said "The air traffic controller(s) did not comply with the requirements of the air traffic control manual and other relevant orders, rules, procedures, policies and practices with respect to Northwest Flight 188, nor coordinate effectively with Northwest dispatch, and such failure was a causal or contributing factor in the incident".

I'm sorry, but isn't being aware of your own aircraft's location a requirement, rule, procedure, policy, or practice for a pilot?