Ethiopian Airlines pilot reportedly missed landing after falling asleep

Nairobi: Two pilots of Africa’s biggest airline reportedly fell asleep in the cockpit while en route to Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, and missed the landing window, according to aviation news site.

An Ethiopian Airlines pilot, who was flying a Boeing 737-800 from Sudan’s capital Khartoum on Monday, reportedly fell asleep at an altitude of 11,000 meters and was unable to be reached by air traffic control. aviation herald.

The site said the pilot was awakened by an on-board alarm that started ringing as the plane passed the descent point and the autopilot was disconnected.

About 30 minutes later, “a disconnected Wailer woke the crew, who maneuvered the aircraft to land safely on the runway,” he said. aviation herald.

Ethiopian Airlines has not confirmed that the pilot fell asleep, but said in a statement that the crew member involved has been suspended pending an investigation. “Appropriate corrective action will be taken based on the findings of the investigation,” the airline said.

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Ethiopian Airlines is Africa’s leading airline with a fleet of 138 aircraft serving nearly 130 destinations in Africa and around the world. In addition to carrying more than 9.6 million passengers in 2020, the state-owned carrier operates cargo services, runs its own aviation school and codeshares with airlines in Africa, Europe and Asia. increase. According to figures posted on the company’s website, the airline’s revenue for the fiscal year 2019-20 was up to $3.7 billion.

Monday’s passenger flight was a two-hour flight from Khartoum to Addis Ababa. Passenger numbers were not immediately revealed, but the Boeing 737-800 can accommodate up to 189 passengers, depending on layout. The 737-800 was an older model that Boeing later sought to replace with the 737 Max 8, the model involved in his 2019 Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed 157 people.

Commenting on Monday’s incident on Twitter, aviation expert Alex Macheras said the incident was “widespread pilot fatigue, a problem across the airline spectrum, sometimes systemic, and aviation-related.” It is a timely reminder that it poses a major threat to security.”