On Monday, August 15, the Ethiopian Airlines flight from Khartoum was scheduled to land at the Addis Ababa airport in Ethiopia.
Flights from the Sudanese capital to Addis Ababa usually last for about two hours. But there was drama when the flight was still 37,000ft even when it got to its arrival location.
There was an attempt to reach the pilots through Air Traffic Control which was unsuccessful. The aircraft was left on autopilot while the two pilots took time to sleep. They were eventually awakened by the sound of an alarm that went off after the end of the autopilot.
“We have received a report which indicates Ethiopian flight number ET343 en route from Khartoum to Addis Ababa temporarily lost communication with Addis Ababa Air Traffic Control on 15 August 2022. The flight later landed safely after communication was restored”. Ethiopian Airlines confirmed the incident in a statement.
“The concerned crew have been removed from operation pending further investigation. Appropriate corrective action will be taken based on the outcome of the investigation. “Safety has always been and will continue to be our first priority” the statement added.
This aviation incident is not the first to happen, as there have been multiple reports of pilots being exhausted during flights. Most pilots are working longer than usual these days, particularly due to the lost in revenue that happened to the aviation industry during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Bainamultimeda/Ibrahim Jabir
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