Ethiopian B738 at Ndola on Apr 4th 2021, landed at airport under construction
Last Update: April 6, 2021 / 17:10:35 GMT/Zulu time
Incident Facts
Date of incident
Apr 4, 2021
Classification
Incident
Airline
Ethiopian Airlines
Departure
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Destination
Ndola, Zambia
Aircraft Registration
ET-AYL
Aircraft Type
Boeing 737-800
ICAO Type Designator
B738
A local construction worker at the new airport took a video of the aircraft as it taxied across the apron with several construction workers gesticulating to tell the crew, they were at the wrong airport, instead of turning into the park position the crew continued straight ahead towards the next taxiway to the runway, entered and backtracked the runway and departed again.
Local workers at the new airport reported, that it was not the only Ethiopian Boeing 737-800 that day that attempted to land at the wrong airport about 2.5 hours after ET-AYL, see Incident: Ethiopian B738 at Ndola on Apr 4th 2021, approached airport under construction and went around from 50 feet AGL.
On Apr 6th 2021 Zambia's Transport Ministry confirmed the aircraft landed inadvertently at the future Copperbelt Airport instead of the Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport located 15km away and currently serving the area. At the time of landing the crew was in contact with ATC at Kapwepwe Airport, who reported they couldn't see the aircraft. The crew obviously landed visually. The aircraft did not sustain any damage. A full investigation resulting in a report is going to be conducted. The aircraft was able to take off again and landed at its intended destination.
On Apr 6th 2021 Ethiopian Airlines stated: "Ethiopian Airlines would like to acknowledge that its dedicated Freighter Flight number ET 3891/4 April B-737-800F on a cargo service from Addis Ababa to Ndola, Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe Airport , Zambia landed at the new airport, Copperbelt International Airport which is yet to be inaugurated. The cargo flight made safe landing in the new airport. Although details of the incident are under investigation in coordination with the Zambian Aeronautical Authorities, the fact that there was no NOTAM issued regarding the construction of the new airport which has the same runway heading orientation with the existing one and the close proximity between the two airports may have contributed to the incident."
No weather data are available for Ndola, the video however suggests the weather was clear, visibility unrestricted, with few clouds at estimated 2000 feet.
The Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport features two parallel runways, runway 10L/28R is 2515 meters/8250 feet long, runway 10R/28L 1215 meters/3980 feet long.
The Copperbelt International Airport is going to feature a runway of 3500 meters length orientation about 09/27. The airport was originally scheduled to be opened mid 2020, due to the Pandemic it's opening was delayed however.
Incident Facts
Date of incident
Apr 4, 2021
Classification
Incident
Airline
Ethiopian Airlines
Departure
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Destination
Ndola, Zambia
Aircraft Registration
ET-AYL
Aircraft Type
Boeing 737-800
ICAO Type Designator
B738
This article is published under license from Avherald.com. © of text by Avherald.com.
Article source
Read unlimited articles and receive our daily update briefing. Gain better insights into what is happening in commercial aviation safety.
Send tip
Support AeroInside by sending a small tip amount.
Related articles
Fleet type match
Ethiopian A359 at Johannesburg on Nov 6th 2021, hard landing, wing tip strike
An Ethiopian Airlines Airbus A350-900, registration ET-AYB performing flight ET-809 from Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) to Johannesburg (South Africa) with…
Fleet type match
Ethiopian B789 at Manchester on Aug 12th 2021, engine fire indication
An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787-9, registration ET-AXL performing flight ET-728 from Brussels (Belgium) to Manchester,EN (UK), was descending…
Fleet type match
Ethiopian B737 at Windhoek on May 3rd 2021, rejected takeoff due to engine failure
An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737-700, registration ET-ALM performing flight ET-834 from Windhoek (Namibia) to Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), was…
Ethiopian B738 at Ndola on Apr 4th 2021, approached airport under construction and went around from 50 feet AGL
An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737-800, registration ET-AQP performing flight ET-871 from Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) to Ndola (Zambia), was scheduled to…
Fleet type match
Ethiopian B772 at Lagos on Nov 28th 2020, bird strike
An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 777-200 freighter, registration ET-AVT performing flight ET-3911 from Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) to Lagos (Nigeria), was on…
Newest articles
Fleet type match
Condor A321 near Frankfurt on Dec 5th 2021, smoke in cockpit
A Condor Airbus A321-200, registration D-AIAF performing flight DE-1462 from Leipzig (Germany) to Las Palmas,CI (Spain) with 172 people on board, was…
GoJet CRJ7 near Columbus on Dec 1st 2021, engine shut down in flight
A Gojet Canadair CRJ-700 on behalf of United, registration N523GJ performing flight UA-4602 from Saint Louis,MO to Newark,NJ (USA), was enroute at…
Subscribe today
Are you researching aviation incidents? Get access to AeroInside Insights, unlimited read access and receive the daily newsletter.
Pick your plan and subscribePartner
A new way to document and demonstrate airworthiness compliance and aircraft value. Find out more.
Train yourself online in VR with the special course for aviation: "Crisis Communications: Airlines". Find out more.
Get updates
Never miss an article from AeroInside. Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter and join 4855 existing subscribers.
AeroInside Blog
Popular aircraft
Airbus A320Boeing 737-800
Boeing 737-800 MAX
Popular airlines
American AirlinesUnited
Delta
Air Canada
Lufthansa
British Airways