Delta Air Lines Inc.'s pilots union said U.S. safety investigators were "irresponsible" and showed a "rush to judgment" in discussing the crew who overshot their destination after failing to respond to air-traffic controllers.

The National Transportation Safety Board's disclosure of flight details within 24 hours violated the board's mission statement and due process, and may make pilots reluctant to participate in voluntary safety programs, Captain Lee Moak, chairman of the executive council of the Delta chapter of the Air Line Pilots Association, wrote today in a memo to members.

NTSB Chairman Debbie Hersman in a letter today defended the agency's release of information after the incident. "Experience has demonstrated that the release of factual information greatly reduces media speculation and the uninformed assessments of those commenting on the accident," she said.

The NTSB said on Oct. 22 the pilots told authorities they were in a "heated discussion over airline policy" when the flight by Delta's Northwest unit flew past the Minneapolis airport. The pilots later told NTSB interviewers they were using personal laptops and discussing crew-scheduling systems and lost touch with air-traffic controllers for more than an hour.

The Federal Aviation Administration this week revoked the licenses of Captain Timothy Cheney, 53, and First Officer Richard Cole, 54, who have a combined 31,000 flight hours.

Voluntary self-disclosure safety programs for pilots "will be in jeopardy if the NTSB continues to recklessly disseminate crew-provided information and the FAA continues to take overly drastic certificate actions while investigations are still ongoing," Moak wrote.

In Hersman's letter, addressed to pilot association national president John Prater, she said "we do not see the connection" between the release of information about the incident and voluntary safety programs.