Ethiopian Airlines suspends pilots who ‘slept’ on duty, overshooting runway

Ethiopian Airlines has officially reacted to a report that two pilots slept on the job overshooting the Addis Ababa runway and losing contact with air control at a point.

“The concerned crew have been removed from operation pending further investigation,” the airline said in a statement without saying if the pilots had been asleep.

“Appropriate corrective action will be taken based on the outcome of the investigation,” it added.

The duo fell asleep 37,000ft (11,000m) in the sky and missed the runway ‘before waking to safely land the plane,’ an aviation publication reported.

The incident which happened on Monday (August 15) involved a passenger flight from Sudan’s Khartoum airport heading to Addis Ababa.

The Boeing 737, with a 154-seat capacity, normally takes less than two hours on its route between the neighbouring countries.

Air traffic lost contact with the pilots at a point following which they woke up and landed the plane on its second approach, the Aviation Herald said.

“Pilot fatigue is nothing new, and continues to pose one of the most significant threats to air safety – internationally,” aviation analyst, Alex Macheras, stated.