Two Pi̇lots Fall Asleep At The Same Time, Plane Goes Off Course
The Indonesian Ministry of Transport announced that the plane veered off course after two Batik Air pilots fell asleep during the flight. The government launched an investigation after finding that the pilots fell asleep for 28 minutes.
On January 25, during a flight from Kendari in Indonesia to the capital Jakarta, both the pilot and co-pilot fell asleep at the same time for 28 minutes, causing navigation errors, Indonesian state news agency Antara reported. The plane traveled off course for minutes.
According to the preliminary report of the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT), no one was injured during the flight, including 153 passengers and 4 flight attendants, and there was no damage to the aircraft.
Flight BTK6723 lasted 2 hours and 35 minutes and successfully landed in Jakarta.
“ACCIDENTALLY FELL ASLEEP”
According to the report, the second pilot had informed the captain pilot earlier in the day that he was “not getting enough rest”.
After the aircraft departed Kendari and reached cruising altitude, the captain pilot also requested permission to rest and the second pilot took over the aircraft.
About 90 minutes before landing, the second pilot also “accidentally” fell asleep, according to the report.
THEY HID THAT THEY FELL ASLEEP
Twelve minutes after the last communication recorded by the second pilot, the regional control center tried to reach the aircraft but there was no response from the pilots.
About 28 minutes after the last recorded transmission, the captain woke up and realized that the aircraft was not on the correct course. At that point, he woke up the second-in-command and responded to the tower.
The captain pilot said there had been a “radio communication problem”, hiding that they had fallen asleep in communication with the tower.
BLAMED HER TWIN BABIES
The names of the pilots were not disclosed in the report, but it said the captain pilot was a 32-year-old Indonesian male and the second pilot was a 28-year-old Indonesian male.
The report said the second pilot had one-month-old twin babies and was “sleep deprived to help his wife take care of the babies”.
An investigation into the incident has been launched.
