Austrian fighter jets were scrambled after an El Al Boeing 777 went silent while passing through air traffic control sectors. The flight was unresponsive for around 12 minutes before re-establishing radio contact, and continued its journey to Tel Aviv with no further problems.
El Al loss of contact scare
On Monday, April 10th, El Al flight LY338 from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS) to Ben Gurion Airport (TLV) was passing over southern Germany when air traffic control (ATC) handed it off to the next sector in Austria. The flight departed Amsterdam at 10:24 local time before reaching its cruising altitude at 10:43 - it then failed to respond to communications just over 30 minutes later, starting at 11:08.
According to The Aviation Herald, pilots did not respond to several communications from Austrian ATC on various frequencies - including guard frequency reserved for emergencies - leading authorities to scramble two Eurofighter jets to make visual contact.
The two fighter jets climbed to FL370 and established visual contact with the passenger plane somewhere above Austria’s mountainous southern region of Corinthia. Sources claim communication with the Boeing 777-200 (registration: 4X-ECF) was re-established simultaneously with visual contact.
What could have happened?
As reported by i24news, El Al has released a statement on the incident,
Photo: Aero Icarus via Wikimedia Commons
Another equally plausible scenario is that the pilots were asleep, particularly given they didn't respond on multiple frequencies. While a single pilot is allowed to take a period of 'controlled rest,' both pilots sleeping is not under any circumstances permitted. Unfortunately, it has happened before, including a pair of Ethiopian Airlines pilots missing their landing as they were asleep, along with ITA Airways pilots falling asleep over France.
Passengers on the flight were reportedly alarmed by the sight of the fighter jets, with one passenger stating, "the plane was really close, we saw the missiles." The traveler added that the crew did not make an onboard announcement regarding the incident.
Only recently re-entered service
Data from FlightRadar24.com shows that the aircraft involved in Monday's incident had returned to service just a week before, on April 4th, perhaps lending credence to the faulty systems theory. In fact, Planespotters.net shows that only three of El Al's six Boeing 777s are currently active.
El Al loss of contact scare
On Monday, April 10th, El Al flight LY338 from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS) to Ben Gurion Airport (TLV) was passing over southern Germany when air traffic control (ATC) handed it off to the next sector in Austria. The flight departed Amsterdam at 10:24 local time before reaching its cruising altitude at 10:43 - it then failed to respond to communications just over 30 minutes later, starting at 11:08.
According to The Aviation Herald, pilots did not respond to several communications from Austrian ATC on various frequencies - including guard frequency reserved for emergencies - leading authorities to scramble two Eurofighter jets to make visual contact.
The two fighter jets climbed to FL370 and established visual contact with the passenger plane somewhere above Austria’s mountainous southern region of Corinthia. Sources claim communication with the Boeing 777-200 (registration: 4X-ECF) was re-established simultaneously with visual contact.
What could have happened?
As reported by i24news, El Al has released a statement on the incident,
One plausible scenario is that the 777 suffered a technical fault, although aircraft are deliberately fitted with redundant communication systems for precisely this scenario - it's also possible that weather interference led to a temporary loss of communications.
Photo: Aero Icarus via Wikimedia Commons
Another equally plausible scenario is that the pilots were asleep, particularly given they didn't respond on multiple frequencies. While a single pilot is allowed to take a period of 'controlled rest,' both pilots sleeping is not under any circumstances permitted. Unfortunately, it has happened before, including a pair of Ethiopian Airlines pilots missing their landing as they were asleep, along with ITA Airways pilots falling asleep over France.
Passengers on the flight were reportedly alarmed by the sight of the fighter jets, with one passenger stating, "the plane was really close, we saw the missiles." The traveler added that the crew did not make an onboard announcement regarding the incident.
Only recently re-entered service
Data from FlightRadar24.com shows that the aircraft involved in Monday's incident had returned to service just a week before, on April 4th, perhaps lending credence to the faulty systems theory. In fact, Planespotters.net shows that only three of El Al's six Boeing 777s are currently active.
