Ethiopian Airlines pilots fall asleep on a flight from New York to Rome

New York: Two pilots of a commercial flight have been accused of falling asleep while in control of the plane 37,000 feet in the air on a flight from New York to Rome.

Two pilots in charge of an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737-800 travelling from Khartoum in Sudan to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia allegedly used the flight to get a little nap and consequently missed the opportunity to begin the touch-down as planned.

The alleged incident occurred that the plane continued past where it was supposed to begin to descend while still thousands of feet in the air. Air Traffic Control tried to contact the crew numerous times, but the pilots are said to have missed their calls due to the fact they were hanging out with the sandman.

When the plane flew over the runway in Ethiopia, autopilot in the aircraft automatically disconnected and kicked off an alarm, which thankfully succeeded in waking the pilots.

It’s unclear whether any of the passengers on the flight were aware of the fact their aircraft had accidentally overshot its destination. Still, thankfully the crew managed to manoeuvre the plane to the ground for a safe landing about 25 minutes later.

The situation appeared to be confirmed by Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast data, which showed the aircraft flew past the runway before beginning its descent and preparing for another approach at the runway.

After the pilots landed the plane, it remained on the ground for about two and half hours before departing for its next flight. Here’s hoping the pilots were sufficiently refreshed after getting a bit of shut-eye.

After the pilots landed the plane, it remained on the ground for about two and half hours before departing for its next flight. Here’s hoping the pilots were sufficiently refreshed after getting a bit of shut-eye.

Source: Agencies Commercial flight pilot asleep Commercial flight pilot asleep