According to a report published late on Thursday by the commercial aviation news website Aviation Herald, the pilots of an Ethiopian Airlines plane fell asleep in midair and failed to make a landing in Addis Abeba, the capital of Ethiopia. According to news agency Bloomberg, the pilots were subsequently suspended while an investigation was conducted.
According to reports, the incident happened on Monday as the plane was en route from Khartoum, Sudan, to Bole Airport in Addis Abeba.
According to Aviation Herald, when the flight operated by Africa’s largest carrier approached the airport but did not make the landing, Air Traffic Control (ATC) raised an alert. The aircraft was flying automatically, maintaining a 37,000-foot altitude. According to a statement from the largest airline in Africa, the ATC made several attempts to get in touch with the ET343’s pilots but was unsuccessful.
“The autopilot disconnected when the aircraft crossed the runway where it was intended to land. That set off an alarm, which woke up the pilots, according to the news portal.
25 minutes later, they reportedly manoeuvred the aircraft around for a runway landing, but the plane landed safely, the outlet added.
