Mystery of Northwest Airlines Flight 188

Intriguing story in the New York Times about a commercial airliner out of San Diego that not only missed Minneapolis by 150 miles but failed to respond to radio calls from air traffic controllers for an hour. The pilot and co-pilot (who have been grounded for the duration of the investigation) said they were involved in a highly distracting conversation. The FAA's fear is that they had both fallen asleep. The flight recorder is already in Washington, DC; answers will probably be forthcoming soon. But in the meantime, the sky's the limit, as they say.It seems to me that this is a classic "missing time" story. I wonder how long it will take before the Internet fills up with speculation about an alien abduction.