Batik Air pilots fell asleep mid-flight: Indonesian air safety agency

JAKARTA: The Indonesian air safety agency is calling for better pilot fatigue monitoring mechanisms after an investigation revealed that both pilots of a commercial airliner recently fell asleep during a flight.

A preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) said a pilot and co-pilot were asleep for about 28 minutes during a Batik Air flight from southeast Sulawesi to the capital Jakarta on January 25.

The report, seen by AFP on Friday (8 March), was uploaded to the agency’s website in late February.

Despite relying heavily on air transport to connect its thousands of islands, Indonesia, a vast archipelago, has a poor air safety record.

The report stated that one of the pilots had not gotten adequate rest the night before the flight.

The incident resulted in several navigation errors, but the Airbus A320’s 153 passengers and four flight attendants survived safely during the two-hour and 35-minute flight.

About half an hour after the aircraft took off, the captain asked his second-in-command for permission to rest for a while, the request was granted.

The report said that after this the co-pilot took command of the plane, but he also unknowingly fell asleep.

“The second-in-command had one-month-old twins. His wife took care of the children and he assisted while he was at home,” the report said.

A few minutes after the last recorded transmission by the co-pilot, the area control center in Jakarta attempted to contact the aircraft. No answer was received to this.

Twenty-eight minutes after the last recorded transmission, the pilot woke up and realized that his co-pilot was asleep and the aircraft was not on the correct flight path.

He immediately woke up his colleague, answered the call from Jakarta and corrected the flight path, the report said.

The plane landed safely after the incident.

Investigators did not identify the pilots, but said they were both Indonesians and aged 32 and 28.

KNKT urged Batik Air to create detailed procedures to conduct proper and regular cockpit checks and ensure that pilots and cabin crew are well rested before their flights.

Batik Air did not immediately respond to questions when contacted by AFP.