Addis Ababa — Ethiopian Airlines said it has “removed from operation pending further investigation,” its crew who were operating the flight number ET343 enroute from Khartoum to Addis Ababa on 15 August, and that “appropriate corrective action will be taken based on the outcome of the investigation”.
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According to a report on The Aviation Herald, “an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737-800, registration ET-AOB performing flight ET-343 from Khartoum (Sudan) to Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), was enroute at FL370 when the pilots fell asleep. The aircraft continued past the top of descent maintaining FL370 and continued along the FMC route set up for an approach to runway 25L without descending however. ATC tried to contact the crew numerous times without success. After overflying runway 25L at FL370 the autopilot disconnected, the disconnect wailer woke the crew up who then maneuvered the aircraft for a safe landing on runway 25L about 25 minutes after overflying the runway at FL370.”
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In response, Ethiopian Airlines released the following statement:
“We have received a report which indicates Ethiopian flight number ET343 enroute from Khartoum to Addis Ababa temporarily lost communication with Addis Ababa Air Traffic Control on 15 August, 2022. The flight later landed safely after communication was restored. The concerned Crew have been removed from operation pending further investigation. Appropriate corrective action will be taken based on the outcome of the investigation. Safety has always been and will continue to be our first priority.”
