Ethiopian Airlines Pilots Fall Asleep During Flight, Fails to Land Plane - What Happened Next?

Mayday, mayday we're falling asleep?

The commercial aviation news website Aviation Herald reported that two pilots dozed off and missed their landing on a flight from Sudan to Ethiopia on Monday.

According to the report, the event happened on board an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737-800 flying from Khartoum to Addis Abeba. The aircraft reportedly continued to descend after the pilots fell asleep.

But what happened next? Did the plane crash? Or did it eventually land safely?

What Happened Next?

The website's data reveals that on August 15, when the plane failed to land at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport as planned, it traveled at 37,000 feet on autopilot. Air traffic control apparently made several attempts to contact the crew but was unable to do so,

"The flight later landed safely after communication was restored. The concerned crew has been removed from operation pending further investigation," Ethiopian Airlines said in a statement to CNN.

The airline added that "appropriate corrective action will be taken based on the outcome of the investigation."

Fortunately, the aircraft woke up the asleep pilot by sounding an alarm when it overshot its intended target. The pilot safely and successfully landed the airplane 25 minutes later than anticipated.

Larger Picture: Pilot Fatigue

While this may sound like a piece of funny news for some, aviation analyst Alex Macheras said that this is a "deeply concerning incident" for the larger aviation industry.

Macheres took to Twitter to express his dismay and speculate that pilot fatigue may have been to blame. He argued that it remains to pose one of the "most significant threats" to international air safety.

He also cited a news report from last week when pilots openly criticized UK leisure carrier Jet2 for failing to acknowledge pilot fatigue concerns.

"A timely reminder that pilot fatigue is widespread, an issue across the airline spectrum, sometimes systematic, and poses a major threat to air safety," Macheras tweeted.

This recent news comes just a few months after airline executives were alerted by pilots at Southwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines that pilot fatigue was on the rise and encouraged them to handle fatigue as it poses risks to air safety.

The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, or SWAPA, wrote to airline executives in April that acute and cumulative fatigue had emerged as the carrier's top safety hazard.

The letter cites a number of factors, including the confusion caused by severe weather-related cancellations and the increased demand for air travel as the industry recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic.

This is not the first time a pilot fell asleep unexpectedly during a flight. In May, an Italian airline pilot was fired after he was accused of dozing off at work.

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Joaquin Victor Tacla