In mid-August, Ethiopian Airlines made headlines after the two pilots fell asleep during a flight, causing them to miss their approach to Addis Ababa airport. There is an interesting update to this story.
The bases of the Ethiopian Airlines incident where the pilots fell asleep
For those who didn’t see the story the first time, this incident relates to Ethiopian Airlines flight ET343 on August 15, 2022. from Khartoum, Sudan (KRT), to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (ADD), operated by a Boeing 737-800. The 620-mile flight was grounded at 1:50 a.m. The flight climbed to 37,000 feet, but unfortunately things didn’t go so well from there:
- Air traffic controllers tried to reach the pilots several times, without response
- The aircraft continued on the approach path for runway 25L which was entered into the flight management computer (FMC); it means the plane made the correct approach, it just didn’t descend (since altitude adjustments have to be programmed separately)
- After flying over runway 25L at 37,000 feet (the runway is at an altitude of about 7,600 feet, so they were over 29,000 feet too high), the autopilot disconnected and clearly this alarm woke up the pilots
Ethiopian Airlines then issued a statement indicating that an investigation would be opened and that the two pilots were temporarily suspended. Now there is an update.
Ethiopian Airlines captain flees country after flight
AINonline has an update regarding the pilots of this Ethiopian Airlines flight.
After landing in Addis Ababa, the Bolivian captain (who had been with the airline for four years) decided to flee the country that morning. Specifically, he took a connecting flight to Rio de Janeiro the same day, then submitted his resignation via email shortly thereafter. He ended up being interviewed after the fact by phone, and sources suggest he had a significant amount of off-duty time before the flight.
The young Nigerian co-pilot (who had been with the airline for a year) agreed to be interviewed in person. He had arrived in Addis Ababa the day before his flight from Kigali, Rwanda, about 15 hours before the flight to Khartoum. He claimed he slept about five to six hours during the day. He has now also been fired from the airline.
Ethiopian Airlines doesn’t exactly have the best reputation among expatriate pilots, in terms of working conditions, pay, etc. While the captain should of course have been fired for this, I can’t say I blame him for simply deciding to leave the country and resign via email.
I suspect another difference is that the Nigerian first officer actually lived in Addis Ababa, while the captain commuted. So, it can be assumed that the first officer could hardly pack up and leave.
At the end of the line
The two pilots of an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 fell asleep during a short flight in mid-August. It’s no surprise that both drivers ended up being fired, but what’s interesting are the different approaches the two drivers took.
Both pilots were from other countries, but one of them literally fled Ethiopian hours after that flight landed and then tendered his resignation via email. Meanwhile, the other pilot cooperated with investigators in person, but ended up being fired anyway.
What do you think of this situation?
