Imagine being on a flight, and it's landing time, yet your plane is still hovering around at 37000 ft..... isn't that enough cause for panic?
What if you also figure out that the pilots on board are fast asleep? That could literally be spine-chilling, considering lay flyers are clearly not in a position to do anything when travelling high up in the atmosphere.
Ethiopian Airlines has suspended two pilots for sleeping on a flight from Khartoum, Sudan to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The incident took place on the 15th of August.
Reportedly, the air traffic control smelled something fishy and raised an alert as the flight ET343 approached the airport but did not seem like it would descend any time soon. The plane's autopilot took control and kept cruising at 37000ft height as the pilots slumbered away.
Though the ATC tried to contact the pilots several times, they failed. As the plane missed the runway where it was expected to land, the autopilot mode got disconnected, which triggered an alarm, finally waking the pilots up.
The pilots took another 25 minutes to maneuver the plane before finally making a landing. Luckily enough, no one was harmed. Only a few months back, a similar situation happened on a flight from New York to Rome.
Such incidents are a cause for concern. The pilots alone cannot be blamed, as fatigue and continuous working hours tire them out. While the air regulatory bodies ensure that pilots and aircrew are well trained and efficient, it is also necessary to take up practices to ensure the health and well-being of the crew.
An infinity loop was seen over Addis Ababa skies thanks to the autopilot. Sleep is definitely an important part of our lives, and sometimes our lack of sleep can put others' lives in jeopardy.
So far, passengers had to be worried only about hijacks, crash landings, and water landings and that too, very rarely. Here's a new woe added to aircraft passengers' bucket list; And aerophobics have even more cause for worry. Hope anxiety attacks don't kill the passengers before they catch their next flight!
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