Plane failed to descend as pilots reportedly fell asleep during flight
Two pilots are believed to have fallen asleep and missed their landing during a flight from Sudan to Ethiopia on Monday.
The incident took place on board an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737-800 en route from Khartoum to Addis Ababa.
the report said, “the pilots fell asleep” and “the aircraft continued past the top of descent.”
Data obtained by the website indicates that the aircraft was at 37,000 feet on autopilot when it failed to descend at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, its scheduled destination, on August 15.
Air traffic control were apparently unable to reach the crew despite making several attempts at contact.
However, an alarm was triggered when the plane overshot the runway and continued along the route.
The aircraft subsequently began to descend, landing safely around 25 minutes later.
“The flight later landed safely after communication was restored."
The concerned crew have been removed from operation pending further investigation.