Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 777F Skids Off Icy Taxiway In Budapest

Wild winter weather, including freezing rain, has resulted in a Ethiopian Airlines Cargo Boeing 777-F skidding off the runway on landing in Budapest, Hungary. This led to the airport closing the runway for around two and a half hours. Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport (BUD), alongside several other airports in central Europe also decided to close out of an abundance of caution due to black ice and heavier than usual icing (as per National World).

The airport had been working to its full capacity to clear runways of snow and ice, during this time, the Ethiopian aircraft slipped off the paved surface on the taxiway A6, leading it to end up stuck in the grass. An investigation to uncover further information as to how the aircraft ended up in that position and other factors that influenced the incident was immediately activated.

Stuck In The Grass

Winter conditions, including black ice, had been hampering the busiest airport in the Eastern European country of Hungary on January 13, with ground crew operating at the highest prepared level for snow and ice clearance. The crew had been working continuously to clear runways, taxiways, and other corresponding aprons.

However, during the morning, the arrival of Ethiopian Airlines cargo ET 3707, operated by a Boeing 777-F, ended up slipping off the taxiway and ended up in the grass verge. As soon as the incident occurred, the airport operator and other ground crew sprung immediately into action to work on freeing the aircraft.

The closure of the runway led to some flights being either cancelled or delayed, with WizzAir (the largest carrier at Budapest being the most widely affected. Neighbouring airports, including Vienna, Bratislava, and Prague, also saw airport operations suspended due to the icy conditions in the region.

Simple Flying has reached out to Ethiopian Airlines for comment.

ET3707 From Hong Kong

According to Flightradar24, the inbound flight had operated a non-stop service from Hong Kong to Budapest, having departed from the specialist region of Mainland China at 5:03 am, some 48 minutes behind its scheduled departure time of 4:15 am. The flight was relatively uneventful, cruising at an altitude of 32,000 feet for the majority of the service. The flight path saw the airliner pass over China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia before descending into Budapest.

The aircraft touched down at BUD at 9:54 am, 41 minutes ahead of the scheduled arrival time of 10:35 am. Once grounded, the plane was taxiing to its parking stand at the airport when the Boeing aircraft hit black ice, which subsequently led the aircraft to end up in the grass verge on the side of the taxiway. The airport confirmed via its Facebook page that no one was injured as a result of the incident.

As a result of the aircraft getting stuck, the airport took additional step to halt operations at the Hungarian airport while the aircraft was freed, and the icy conditions subsided. The plane, one free, was able to be unloaded, and then completed a service from Budapest to Oslo later that evening (ET3707).

Aircraft ET-BAA

Flightradar24 identifies the aircraft involved with registration ET-BAA. Data from ch-aviation outlines that this was a 2.2-year-old Boeing 777-F that took its first test flight on October 28, 2023. Delivered to Ethiopian Airlines later that year on November 6, 2023, makes up one of 12 777F in the Star Alliance carriers 777F fleet. Other cargo planes operating for the airline include the Boeing 737-800F and 767-300BDSF.

Ethiopian Airlines is the flag carrier of the African nation of Ethiopia, and is fully owned by Ethiopian Investment Holdings, which itself is a sovereign wealth fund. The airline has operated since April 1946, and has quickly risen to become the largest airline in Africa by passengers carried, destinations served, fleet size, and revenue.

The carrier maintains its main hub at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, with secondary hubs at Lilongwe, Lome, and Lusaka. Its Ethiopian Airlines cargo arm maintains a secondary European hub at Liège Airport, Belgium.