The mystery continues about why Northwest Airlines Flight 188 missed its destination by more than 150 miles and was out of radio contact for more than an hour. But one of the pilots insisted that they were in control of the aircraft.

Pilot Cole said, "I can tell you that neither of us was asleep"

Next week both pilots will give their side of the story to NTSB officials. Investigators won't be able to get much information from the cockpit voice recorder. It only holds the last 30 minutes of the flight. Officials have questioned the pilots explanation of being so engaged in conversation that they became distracted. Even veteran pilots say if the crew had looked around they would have noticed messages and warnings on the cockpit displays showing they had flown beyond the airport.

John Nance, an aviation consultant, said, "In my mind at least if they were asleep there would be a physiological explanation, but to be awake and talking and so completely disconnected from the reality of your job for an hour that's hard to buy"

Minneapolis airport police say the pilots missed radio calls, eight text messages sent by the airline and attempts to reach them by cellphone. Once controllers re-established contact with the plane they had the pilots complete a series of maneuvers to prove they were in control of the aircraft. Some passengers only realized something was wrong once the plane landed and police came on board.

Flight 188 passenger Anne Kroshus said, "The first thing that crossed my mind was, 'My life was in their hands,' and there was definitely some negligence involved here in one way shape or form. "

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