It was an alarm that woke them up, when the autopilot disconnected.
Ethiopian Airlines pilots fell asleep and missed landing on August 15. According to information from New Zealand Herald , the two pilots began their nap during flight ET343 connecting the capital of Sudan, Khartoum, to that of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa. The plane was hovering at 11,000 meters thanks to the autopilot system.
When the Boeing 737 approached the arrival airport, it did not begin its descent. Ashore, air traffic control attempted to contact the crew several times, to no avail. The autopilot then disconnected as the aircraft passed the airstrip, which triggered an alarm, finally waking the crew.
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The pilots thus turned back and landed on the Addis Ababa runway 25 minutes later. No one was injured and the aircraft was able to land safely. For the aeronautical specialist, Alex Macheras, “pilot fatigue is not new and continues to pose one of the most significant threats to aviation safety“. For its part, Ethiopian Airlines has confirmed the suspension of the two pilots, pending further investigation.
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