An Ethiopian Airlines cargo plane flying from Addis Ababa into Zambia accidentally landed at an airport that is still under construction, a government official and the airline said Monday, The plane hit the tarmac on Sunday at the uncompleted airport in Zambia’s northern Copperbelt province, which is currently served by the Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport around 15 kilometres away…..
The transport ministry’s permanent secretary Misheck Lungu said the pilot had landed at the future Copperbelt International Airport “by error”, “When he was about to land he was communicating with the radar and they told him, ‘We can’t see you’,” Lungu told AFP.
“So he used his sight as he had no control and landed at an airport still under construction.” Lungu added that no damage resulted and said investigators would issue a “comprehensive report” on the incident.
The pilot later flew the plane to its original destination, Ethiopian Airlines confirmed the incident and said details were being investigated in cooperation with Zambian authorities.
In an emailed response to AFP, a spokesperson said that pilots had not been notified of the construction of a new airport with “the same runway-heading orientation” as the existing one.
