WATCH: Pilot 'mistakenly' lands plane at under construction airport
- By Web Desk -
- Apr 06, 2021
In a major glitch, a plane landed at an under-construction airport after a miscommunication between the pilot and flight controller.
The incident occurred in Zambia, where an Ethiopian Airlines plane landed at an airport that was still under construction with authorities terming it a “mistake”.
The cargo plane touched down on Sunday at the not-yet-finished airport in Zambia’s northern Copperbelt province, which is currently served by the Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport, some 15 kilometers (9 miles) away.
“When the pilot was about to land he was communicating with the radar, and they told him: ‘We can’t see you,'” the Transport Ministry’s permanent secretary, Misheck Lungu, told the AFP. “So he used his sight as he had no control and landed at an airport still under construction.”
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Lungu added that no damage had been incurred and said investigators would be releasing a “comprehensive report.”
Though there is no mention of the incident on its Twitter page, Ethiopian Airlines confirmed that the episode had taken place and said an investigation, in cooperation with Zambian authorities, was already underway.