Created Sunday, Oct 16th 2022 16:35Z, last updated Sunday, Oct 16th 2022 16:35Z
An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 767-300 freighter, registration ET-ALO performing flight
ET-3717 from Liege (Belgium) to Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), was enroute at FL330 in Croatia's Airspace in contact with Zagreb Center, when upon handoff to the next frequency radio contact with the aircraft was lost. The aircraft continued along its planned route via Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania into Greece. Multiple calls by the various ATC centers as well as other aircraft to raise the crew on all available frequencies including the International Guard Frequency were to no avail. Athens Center finally indicated that fighter aircraft would scramble, those calls again without reply from the aircraft. More than an hour after communication was lost fighter aircraft reached the aircraft over the Mediterranean Sea close to the border to Egypt, the crew reported again on the correct frequency with Athens Center and subsequently continued to Addis Ababa for a landing on runway 07R without further incident.
A listener on frequency reported the crew had been in contact with Zagreb Control and was handed off to the next frequency, but did not report on the next frequency and continued to not be heard for more than an hour although all ATC stations and many other aircraft tried to raise them. Once the aircraft was in Greek Airspace, Athens Control advised they'd be launching fighter aircraft to intercept them, these calls also remaining without reply. Once the fighter aircraft had reached the 767, close to the border with Egypt, the crew "suddenly" reported on the correct frequency to Athens Control and got an "earful" by ATC. The International Guard Frequency had been "crazy" with all the aircraft and ATCs trying to contact the aircraft.
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