Ethiopian Airlines Two pilots fall asleep in cockpit and miss landing
Ethiopian Airlines is Africa’s largest airline
© NurPhoto / Imago Images
08/20/2022, 11:30 am 2 min. reading time
The crew of an Ethiopian Airlines plane did not respond to radio messages – apparently both pilots were asleep. The machine initially missed landing, but later arrived safely at its destination.
Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 343, which took off from the Sudanese capital Khartoum, was due to land at Addis Ababa airport. But even as the plane approached the Ethiopian capital, it made no attempt to land. Instead, the machine remained at an altitude of around 12,000 meters.
The reason for this is frightening: both pilots fell asleep in the cockpit during the nearly two-hour flight, reports the specialist portal “The Aviation Herald”. This caused confusion and concern for air traffic control. According to the report, air traffic controllers tried several times to contact the pilots by radio. However, they failed. The plane flew over Addis Ababa airport and missed its scheduled landing.
Pilots take a nap during Ethiopian Airlines flight
The two pilots only woke up from their sleep when the autopilot turned off after flying over the airport and an alarm sounded in the cockpit. The crew started the descent of the Boeing 737, with capacity for 154 passengers. With a delay of 25 minutes, the plane landed safely in Addis Ababa.
The airline announced that it would investigate the incident more closely. “We will draw the appropriate conclusions from the outcome of our investigation,” Ethiopian Airlines, Africa’s largest airline, said. “Safety was, is and always will be our number one priority.” Pilots were initially put on leave after the incident.
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Aviation analyst Alex Macheras called the incident “extremely concerning” on Twitter. Pilot fatigue remains one of the biggest threats to air traffic safety. A similar situation occurred in May on a flight operated by the Italian airline ITA Airways. At that time, on the flight from New York to Rome, the captain could not be reached by radio over southern France for ten minutes. The French military had already dispatched two fighter jets. The pilot was fired, but denied having slept during the flight.
Sources: “Aviation Herald” / Alex Macheras on Twitter
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