An Ethiopian Airlines cargo plane has landed accidentally in Zambia.
The plane was said to be flying from the capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, into Zambia.
Zambia’s Transport Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Misheck Lungu, said on Monday, April 5, 2021, that the plane landed “by error” at a wrong airport.
The airport it landed at is still under construction, the Transport Secretary said.
According to the Transport Secretary, the aircraft hit the tarmac on Sunday, April 4, 2021, at the uncompleted airport in Zambia’s northern Copperbelt province.
Currently, the Northern Copperbelt Province is being served by the Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport.
Mr Lungu was quoted by AFP as saying
“When he was about to land he was communicating with the radar and they told him, ‘We can’t see you’.”
“So he used his sight as he had no control and landed at an airport still under construction,” the Transport Secretary stated, adding that no damage occurred.
AFP claimed Ethiopian Airlines has confirmed the incident in an email response.
According to the AFP, in the email response, a spokesperson of Ethiopian Airlines indicated that pilots had not been notified of the construction of a new airport with “the same runway-heading orientation” as the existing one.
“The fact that there was no NOTAM (notice to airmen)… and the close proximity between the two airports may have contributed to the incident,” AFP quoted the unnamed spokesperson as saying.
African Entertainment understands that the opening of the new Chinese-built airport had been scheduled for mid-2020. However, the opening of the $397 million airport was reportedly delayed due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
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