By: Kaya 959 News
Staff working at an airport in Zambia got the fright of their lives when not one but two aircrafts landed at the site earlier this week.
The Ethiopian Airlines flight ET3891 was flying from Addis Ababa in Ethiopia to Ndola in Zambia and landed at the wrong airline. Only minutes later, a second flight almost made the same mistake.
According to reports, the pilot was expected to land at the Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe Airport but ended up landing at the Copperbelt International Airport – which is currently under construction. The Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe Airport is an international airport, used by most airlines in Ndola.
In a video clip that made its way to the internet a short while after the landing, shows workers standing close to the runway.
Just a few minutes later, a second plane, a Boeing 737-800 almost landed at the Copperbelt airport.
Fortunately, the pilot managed to do a go-around and land at the correct airport.
But how does something like this happen? www.onemileatatime.com reported that “as advanced as aviation is, this is far from the first time that a plane has landed at the wrong airport,, and will be far from the last time.”
According to flight tracking site, FlightRadar24.com, that plane operated a flight from Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa to the previously named ‘Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe Airport’ in Ndola, which has recently been renamed ‘Ndola International’. Instead, the Boeing 737-800 landed at the yet-to-be-finished Copperbelt International Airport, which has recently been renamed Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe.
The first flight was a cargo flight while the second was a passenger flight.
Reports state that the two incidents will be a massive blow to Ethiopian Airlines which is believed to be the best airline on the continent. In the last 10 years, Ethiopian Airlines has doubled in size and was selling nearly 27 million seats annually, before the global travel downturn.
Two weeks ago, the airline celebrated the arrival of a new cargo plane.
GA Telesis chief investment officer Marc Cho said; ““We are proud to launch our commitment to the freighter aircraft market with Ethiopian Airlines as a partner. Ethiopian has, throughout this crisis, cemented themselves as one of the world’s top carriers.” Adding, “They have demonstrated their ability to be creative and agile by focusing on the cargo segment to offset a reduction in passenger volume as a result of this pandemic.”
Meanwhile, Group CEO of Ethiopian Airlines Tewolde GebreMariam said; “I would like to express my delight about the delivery of the B737-800SF converted freighter aircraft. The delivery is a significant addition to our freighter capacity and frequency and will enhance our capability to serve short-haul destinations in Africa and the Middle East more economically, including the transportation of much-needed medical supplies and vaccines”
“This time, we are not just receiving another aircraft, we are also showing to the world that Ethiopian stands firm through a storm and strives to widen its strength and reach corners of the world with much-needed medical supplies and vaccines to save lives,” he added.
