Addis Ababa: An Ethiopian Airlines flight was on its way from Khartoum, Sudan to Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia when its two pilots fell asleep. Such a rare incident happened last Monday. At that time, the plane was flying at the height of 37,000 feet. The pilot forgot to land the aircraft as he fell asleep. Flight ET343 was alerted by Air Traffic Control (ATS) after it reached the airport but did not start the landing process. While the pilot was asleep, the Boeing 737’s autopilot system kept it flying at an altitude of 37,000 feet. ATC authorities made multiple attempts to contact the pilots but failed.
When the plane passed the airport where it was supposed to land, the autopilot disconnected. The pilots were woken up by the alarm sounding on the aircraft. They landed the plane on the runway 25 minutes late. Fortunately, the plane landed safely and all passengers are safe. However, this is a very alarming event, said aviation analyst Alex Macheras. He alleged that due to the excessive work pressure on the pilots, they were falling asleep. Such an incident happened last May. Two pilots of a flight from New York to Rome fell asleep. At that time, the plane was flying at the height of 38,000 feet.
