--- title: "Pilot Falls Asleep, Forgets to Land Plane" description: "An Ethiopian Airlines airliner failed to descend to the runway in the country's capital Addis Ababa — because the pilot was reportedly asleep." date: "2022-08-22" modified: "2022-08-22" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/pilot-falls-asleep-forgets-land-plane" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Sleep" tags: - "#airlines" - "pilot" - "the digest" --- # Pilot Falls Asleep, Forgets to Land Plane ![An Ethiopian Airlines airliner failed to descend to the runway in the country's capital Addis Ababa — because the pilot was reportedly asleep.]() *\Image: Getty Images/Futurism\* ## Stone Slumber Pilot An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737-800 airliner failed to descend to the runway in the country's capital Addis Ababa — because the pilot was reportedly asleep. Fortunately, the aircraft alerted the sleeping pilot with an alarm when the plane overshot its target, apparently waking him up. The pilot safely landed the aircraft without incident 25 minutes later than expected, [*CNN* reports](). According to experts, it's a deeply worrying example of pilot exhaustion, which runs rampant in the airline industry. The news comes after the industry made a massive comeback following the COVID-19 pandemic — leading to [widespread chaos]() as the spun-down industry struggled to keep up with demand. ## Sleep Air Data from the airliner showed it overfly the runway during a flight on August 15. According to a statement by Ethiopian Airlines to *CNN*, "the flight later landed safely after communication was restored. The concerned crew have been removed from operation pending further investigation." The airline also noted that "appropriate corrective action will be taken based on the outcome of the investigation." It's not the first time a pilot took an unscheduled nap during a flight. In May, for instance, an [Italian airline pilot was sacked]() after being accused of sleeping on the job. "Pilot fatigue is nothing new, and continues to pose one of the most significant threats to air safety — internationally," [tweeted]() aviation analyst Alex Macheras. Pilots from US-based airlines warned executives earlier this year of the problem. "Fatigue, both acute and cumulative, has become Southwest Airlines' number-one safety threat," the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association told airline execs in an [April letter](). **READ MORE:** [Plane failed to descend as pilots reportedly fell asleep during flight]() \[*CNN*\] **More on airline:** *[The Future of Air Travel Is Apparently the Final Circle of Hell]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()