Several flights departing Newark Liberty International Airport have been sent in the wrong direction in recent days, the air traffic controllers' union said Wednesday.

Decisions made by inexperienced controllers and pilots unfamiliar with new takeoff patterns sent three Continental Airlines aircraft off course Saturday morning, said Eddie Kragh, president of the Newark chapter of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.

One of the wrong-way incidents occurred after a controller with eight months experience confused the numbers of two separate jets, Kragh said. The other took place because of pilot error, he said.

Kragh said three similar incidents occurred earlier in the month - compelling air traffic controllers to call on the Federal Aviation Administration to help overworked controllers and confused pilots better adjust to a redesign of the region's flight patterns.

"Our pilots are just kind of winging it," said Phil Barbarello, NATCA's eastern regional vice president.

Continental Airlines officials did not immediately return calls late Wednesday.

The FAA declined to comment on the Saturday incidents because it hadn't received confirmation from Newark Liberty as of late Wednesday. The Port Authority, which operates the airport, referred comment to the FAA.