The incident occurred on Monday as an Ethiopian Airlines flight was approaching its destination in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital and largest city. As air traffic control at the city’s airport tried to contact the flight around its descent point, they could get no response and the plane continued, according to a BBC News report. As it turned out, both pilots at the controls of the plane had fallen asleep, causing the plane to stall from its descent point. When the pilots pulled away, the plane was about 37,000 feet in the air. Both pilots eventually woke up from the plane’s autopilot and managed to land safely in Addis Ababa on a second approach, about 25 minutes after missing their first descent. The plane, a Boeing 737, can normally accommodate 154 passengers and was en route from the airport in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, which is normally a two-hour flight. Two pilots fell asleep as the Ethiopian Airlines plane they were flying on approached its landing point. Above, a representative photo of an Ethiopian Airlines flight in September 2020. Kola Sulaimon/AFP via Getty Images The pilots involved in the incident have been placed on leave pending a full investigation into what happened. “We have received a report indicating that Ethiopian flight number ET343 en route from Khartoum to Addis Ababa temporarily lost communication with Addis Ababa Air Traffic Controller on August 15, 2022,” Ethiopian Airlines wrote in a statement sent to many press agencies. “The flight later landed safely after communication was restored. The crew involved was removed from the 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 .” Reactions online ranged from shock and anger to general sympathy for the responsibilities modern pilots carry. In its report, BBC News cited comments calling for the pilots’ immediate “termination … period” and others saying “the responsibility lies with the company and regulators.” “Pilot fatigue is nothing new and continues to be one of the most significant threats to aviation safety – globally,” aviation analyst Alex Macheiras tweeted in response to the incident. Newsweek has reached out to Ethiopian Airlines for comment. A similar incident was reported in May during a transatlantic flight from New York to Rome. The pilots of the craft fell asleep and were unreachable for about 10 minutes before waking up, according to an Italian news outlet.
