The air traffic controllers asked if the pilots, Northwest Captain Timothy B. Cheney and First Officer Richard I. Cole, could "elaborate on the distraction."
"Ah [just] cockpit distraction, that's all I can say," is the response.
The flight -- carrying 144 passengers, two pilots and three flight attendants from San Diego, California -- eventually landed safely at Minneapolis. The FAA has revoked the licenses of both pilots, who have appealed the decision.
An air traffic controller told the pilots, "I just have to verify that the cockpit is secure."
SHOOT: The transcript really isn't worth reading. It confirms simply that when asked to elaborate on their 'distraction' they cited 'company issues', whatever that means.
(CNN) -- One of the two Northwest Airlines pilots who overshot the Minneapolis, Minnesota, airport last month told air traffic control that they had dropped from radio contact because of "cockpit distraction."
"Ah, roger, we got distracted and we've flown over, ah, Minneapolis, we are overhead Eau Claire and would like to do a 180 and do arrival from Eau Claire," the cockpit said.
Later, air traffic controllers from Minneapolis asked, "Do you have time to give a brief explanation on what happened?"
"[Ah we're just dealing with some company issues] and that's all I can tell you right now at this time," the cockpit responded.
The FAA says that the brackets note where the recording is not entirely clear and that the words inside them represent "the best interpretation" under the circumstances.
Read transcripts of how air traffic controllers tried to reach the pilots (PDF)
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clipped from www.cnn.com
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