For people travelling on Flight ET343, August 15 was an experience that was both harrowing and miraculous. Pilots of the flight, which was travelling from Khartoum to Addis Ababa, apparently fell asleep at 37,000 feet in the air and missed their landing.

As per the Aviation Herald, the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737-800 continued past its&nbsp; scheduled destination: the Addis Ababa Bole International Airport and didn't approach the runway. In spite of multiple tries, Air Traffic Control (ATC) was unable to reach the crew.

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When the plane overflew the runway, the autopilot mode was disengaged, and "the disconnect wailer woke the crew up, who then manoeuvred the aircraft for a safe landing on the runway about 25 minutes after overflying the runway."

Alex Macheras, an aviation analyst, expressed his dismay at the "deeply concerning incident" on Twitter, suggesting that pilot fatigue might be to blame.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Deeply concerning incident at Africa’s largest airline — Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ET343?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ET343</a> was still at cruising altitude of 37,000ft by the time it reached destination Addis Ababa 
 
Why hadn’t it started to descend for landing? Both pilots were asleep. <a href="https://t.co/cPPMsVHIJD">https://t.co/cPPMsVHIJD</a> <a href="https://t.co/RpnxsdtRBf">pic.twitter.com/RpnxsdtRBf</a>
— Alex Macheras (@AlexInAir) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlexInAir/status/1560386182055428097?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 18, 2022</a></blockquote>
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As per CNN, this incident comes just months after a warning by Southwest Airlines Pilots Association&nbsp;(SWAPA), which cautioned that "Fatigue, both acute and cumulative, has become Southwest Airlines' number-one safety threat."

Reportedly, the number of pilots who reported being unable to work due to exhaustion soared in the fall, including a 600 per cent rise in October, and hit "another staggering 330 per cent&nbsp;increase" in March, according to the union's letter to executives. SWAPA stated that "April is already setting fatigue records."&nbsp;

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In the US, about 60 reports of mistakes or other incidences involving fatigue were submitted to the federal Aviation Safety Reporting System by pilots from all carriers in 2021.&nbsp;Some pilots reported feeling worn out from managing training duties. Others claimed that because of a personnel shortage, airline bosses requested them to oversee too many extra flights.

(With inputs from agencies)

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For people travelling on Flight ET343, August 15 was an experience that was both harrowing and miraculous. Pilots of the flight, which was travelling from Khartoum to Addis Ababa, apparently fell asleep at 37,000 feet in the air and missed their landing.

For people travelling on Flight ET343, August 15 was an experience that was both harrowing and miraculous. Pilots of the flight, which was travelling from Khartoum to Addis Ababa, apparently fell asleep at 37,000 feet in the air and missed their landing. As per the Aviation Herald, the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737-800 continued past its scheduled destination: the Addis Ababa Bole International Airport and didn't approach the runway. In spite of multiple tries, Air Traffic Control (ATC) was unable to reach the crew. Also read | Pay-related strikes bring London's transport network to a halt When the plane overflew the runway, the autopilot mode was disengaged, and "the disconnect wailer woke the crew up, who then manoeuvred the aircraft for a safe landing on the runway about 25 minutes after overflying the runway." Alex Macheras, an aviation analyst, expressed his dismay at the "deeply concerning incident" on Twitter, suggesting that pilot fatigue might be to blame. Deeply concerning incident at Africa’s largest airline — Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 #ET343 was still at cruising altitude of 37,000ft by the time it reached destination Addis Ababa Why hadn’t it started to descend for landing? Both pilots were asleep. https://t.co/cPPMsVHIJD pic.twitter.com/RpnxsdtRBf — Alex Macheras (@AlexInAir) August 18, 2022 × As per CNN, this incident comes just months after a warning by Southwest Airlines Pilots Association (SWAPA), which cautioned that "Fatigue, both acute and cumulative, has become Southwest Airlines' number-one safety threat." Reportedly, the number of pilots who reported being unable to work due to exhaustion soared in the fall, including a 600 per cent rise in October, and hit "another staggering 330 per cent increase" in March, according to the union's letter to executives. SWAPA stated that "April is already setting fatigue records." Also read | British Airways cuts 10,300 more flights through October due to staff shortages In the US, about 60 reports of mistakes or other incidences involving fatigue were submitted to the federal Aviation Safety Reporting System by pilots from all carriers in 2021. Some pilots reported feeling worn out from managing training duties. Others claimed that because of a personnel shortage, airline bosses requested them to oversee too many extra flights. (With inputs from agencies) Watch WION LIVE HERE: You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Plane crew fall asleep at 37,000 feet, miss runway; Expert blames 'pilot fatigue'

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Plane crew fall asleep at 37,000 feet, miss runway; Expert blames 'pilot fatigue'