Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways yesterday said its strategy of buying stakes in European airlines was bringing fresh competition to the region, despite close scrutiny by regulators over whether its investments comply with European ownership rules.

The US airline crew that overshot their destination by 100 miles had no idea anything was wrong until one of the cabin crew told them, investigation papers released today reveal.

Two pilots told investigators they were going over schedules using their laptop computers against company policy while their passenger jet overflew their Minneapolis destination by 150 miles.