The Pilot Fell Asleep On The Flight, This Aircraft Had Failed To Land At Destination Airport

Illustration of Ethiopian Airlines. (Wikimedia Commons/Alan Wilson)

JAKARTA - Two pilots are believed to have fallen asleep and missed their landing during a flight from Sudan to Ethiopia, according to a report by the Aviation Herald commercial aviation news site.

The incident occurred aboard a Boeing 737-800 Ethiopian Airlines plane on its way from Khartoum to Addis Ababa, the report said, "when the pilot fell asleep" and "the plane continued to pass the peak of the decline."

Data obtained by the website shows the plane slid at an altitude of 37,000 feet on autopilot, when it failed to disembark at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, a scheduled destination, on August 15.

Air traffic control doesn't seem to be able to reach the crew, despite making some contact attempts. However, the alarm was triggered when the plane crossed the runway and continued the route.

The plane then started landing, landing safely about 25 minutes later.

Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) data showed the aircraft aboard the runway, before starting to drop and maneuver for another approach.

"We have received reports showing the Ethiopian flight number ET343 on our way from Khartoum to Addis Ababa temporarily losing communication with Addis Ababa Air Traffic Control on August 15, 2022," read a statement issued by Ethiopian Airlines.

"Flight then landed safely after communication recovered. The crew concerned has been removed from operations pending further investigation."

"Precise corrective actions will be taken based on the results of the investigation. Safety is always and will continue to be our top priority," the statement read.

Separately, aviation analyst Alex Macharas tweeted that he was surprised by the "deeply concerning incident," which he said may be due to pilot fatigue.

"pilot fatigue is nothing new, and continues to be one of the most significant threats to air safety - internationally," he tweeted on Thursday.

The report comes just months after pilots on Southwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines, warned airline executives that pilot fatigue was increasing, urging them to treat fatigue and mistakes generated as safety risks.

" Fatigue, both acute and cumulative, has become a safety threat for Southwest Airlines," Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, or SWAPA, told airline executives in a letter in April.

According to the letter, the increasing demand for air travel is because the industry is starting to bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic, and the chaos of cancellation caused by bad weather is one of the reasons for increasing pilot fatigue.

Deeply concerning incident at Africa’s largest airline — Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 #ET343 was still at cruising altitude of 37,000ft by the time it reached destination Addis AbabaWhy hadn’t it started to descend for landing? Both pilots were asleep. https://t.co/cPPMsVHIJD pic.twitter.com/RpnxsdtRBf

— Alex Macheras (@AlexInAir) August 18, 2022