FAA Investigation
The Federal Aviation Administration opened an investigation whether two Go! pilots fell asleep during a 36 minute flight between Honolulu and Hilo. Flight 1002 on February 13, 2008, overshot Hilo Airport by 15 miles, remaining 21,000 feet in the air as they missed the destination. Air traffic controllers were unable to reach the two pilots for 25 minutes, after which contact was re-established and the aircraft returned for a safe landing in Hilo. The pilots were later fired over the incident. On September 24, 2008 the FAA announced that the licences of both pilots had been suspended. The Captain had his suspended for 60 days, while the First Officer had his suspended for 45 days. No action was taken against Go Airlines because sufficient rest was provided for both crew members prior to the flight. During the investigations however it was found that the Captain in fact suffered from a sleep disorder known as Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea. This is a condition that causes a person to stop breathing intermittently during sleep, thus preventing a full night's rest.
Aviation security consultant Joseph Gutheinz laid some of the blame for the Go-Airlines incident squarely on the shoulders of the FAA for not reacting quickly enough to the errant flight. He said: "Why is it that there wasn't an interceptor up there trying to find out what was going on with that plane? ...If we don't get it now, what about next week when somebody does hijack a plane?" He continued: "All that tells you is that Hawaii is wide open for a terrorist attack." He asked: "Didn't we learn our lesson from 9/11?"
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