It would appear that an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 accidentally landed at the wrong airport today on a flight to Zambia… and then a second Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 did almost the same thing.
Continue reading: Oops: Ethiopian Airlines 737 Lands At Wrong Airport
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
LGA JFK EWR does it really matter? There's always another chance to get it right.
Looks so much like the new airport in BOM that opened a few years ago... almost the same design from the external perspective!
i love how the airport video shows a clip of United Airlines jets in current operations at some random airport.
If you land at the wrong airport during the day, you should be forced into retirement.
Never never never would I board an Ethiopian airlines aircraft - FOC or otherwise
Couldn’t care what sort of inflight review they had either.
@Steven E
That’s ok. You probably don’t even have a passport anyway. SWA Nashville to Midway flight is boarding. You better hurry to get in line C to secure that fantastic middle seat on ‘Murica’s Greyound Bus in the Sky.
@Steven E - nobody will force you to fly on ET. But it’s your loss, really. ET is a great airline. They have good aircraft, especially the A350, great cabin crew, good food and their pricing is spot-on. From where I live in Cape Town ET is the quickest way to get to many destinations, especially in Europe. ADD is not a great airport but with their schedules I never spend more than 2 hours there so it’s not a huge negative. It’s a well run, profitable airline.
Google Maps shows that the new airport runway is very easy to see but the old airport's runway, in the same orientation, is harder to see because it blends with nearby roads and buildings.
The new airport now already has a flight that has landed. It was the first. The pilots should be lucky they were not arrested because they stole a historic occasion that can never be repeated. Now the airport's news release have to have a qualifier. They will not be able to say, for example, "the first flight to land at the new airport was Proflight Zambia Airways flight 001" but may have to say the first scheduled flight. (Zambian Airways stopped operating more than a decade ago.)
Garuda tried to land a 747 at Essendon Airport (MEB) rather than Tullamarine ( MEL) 20 years after it had closed to international flights. It came within 30 seconds and may not have ended well.
Is the United B 727 which landed at Stapleton a month after the new Denver airport opened still there ? And what happened to the passengers ? Hopefully, they saved a lengthy commute.
Of course, there was 2013 when an USAF C-17 landed not at McDill AFB but the small exec airport (with very small runway) nearby and Marine General Mattis (future SECDEF) aboard. I'm sure brake pads needed a swap-out after this landing: https://www.military.com/video/military-aircraft-operations/landing/c-17-lands-at-the-wrong-airport/1752044600001 . Mattis' quote was somthing like: "Some young guys made a human error and hopefully they'll recover and enjoy long and illustrious careers."
@Mike, the random airport in the Copperbelt International Airport video looks like SEA-TAC with Mt. Rainier in the background.
Ethiopian Airlines lands in Zambia multiple times each day, Ethiopian pilots already know the old airport and adjacent newly constructed one, but not foreign pilots operating ET cargo hauling vaccines.
Zambia has new airport for resurrection of Zambian Airways, now 45% owned by Ethiopian Airlines.
At least that’s not as bad as this one which triggered NATO wide alert across Europe back in 2009.
https://www.voanews.com/archive/turkish-charter-jet-lands-wrong-airport-poland-sparks-terror-alert
i don think ethiopian has a such silly flight crew and flight dispachers, any flights prior to comencment cheak and properly fills flight planning that address the destination aerodrom and the alternate aerodroms alteast 3 as per icao.
thise flight planning will pass through some sort of dispachers and flight crew inteded to flight to the destination after succefull cheak list and API (Aeronautical Puplications ) of the destination aerodroms, therefore unless the destination Aerodrom at
Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe Airport which is the international airport currently being used in Ndola closede by NOTAM (Notice to Airman) Ethiopian has the right to land,
2. it it not a such confusing or that the two destination aerodroms will have the same name , same location and same IATA/ICAO Airport codes tha can miss inform the flight.
3. prior to departure the ethiopian crew and dispachers will cheak all availalbel destination and alternate aerodrom that is able to suport the landing based on facts and reall information.
3. no flight will proceed before all information avalablility is right and confirmaed as per the legal aviation staffs.
indeed, the reaoson will bo no mistake or wrong naviagtional preceedings that make EThiopian to land to Mwansa Kapwepwe airport , it could be trafic case, trafic order, facility, distress./ urgency cases that make aircraft to land, or some problem that inhibited the the crews to make decision and we must not forget that it also could be the inauguration that ethiopian is the first to land at Mwansa Kapwepwe airpor.
I was on a CGK/MEL flight on Garuda on a trip home a couple of years ago.
As we flew past Tullamarine on the Western side and then started turning towards the East/West runway at Essendon, I had thoughts about that earlier Garuda flight. A photo was taken and a smartarse comment on facebook was posted before I reached the immigration gates.
I did fly into Essendon during that trip - from Wollongong - something I never had a chance to do before Tullamarine opened.