Two Ethiopian Airlines pilots were flying a flight from Khartoum, Sudan, to Addis Abeba, Ethiopia, when they both fell asleep and missed their landing.
Aviation Herald said that the incident happened on Monday and that Air Traffic Control (ATC) had issued an alarm when flight ET343 approached the airport but did not initiate a descent.
The Boeing 737’s autopilot system reportedly maintained the aircraft cruising at 37,000 feet as the pilots slept.
It said that the plane stayed on the ground for around 2.5 hours before taking off on its subsequent voyage.
The ATC made numerous attempts to get in touch with the pilots but was unsuccessful. The autopilot disconnected as soon as the aircraft crossed the landing strip. That set off an alert, which, according to Aviation Herald, awakened up the pilots.
After that, they turned the plane around in preparation for a 25-minute runway landing, the source added.
Fortunately, nobody was hurt, and the aircraft made a safe landing.
ADS-B data provided proof that the incident actually happened and that the plane crossed the runway. It has published a picture of the plane’s flight path, which depicts an infinite circle close to the airport in Addis Abeba.
Alex Macheras, an aviation analyst, also tweeted about the incident and called it “deeply concerning.” He also attributed it to pilot tiredness.
Two pilots reportedly passed out on a flight from New York to Rome in May when the aircraft was cruising at 38,000 feet in the air.
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