Pilots fall asleep, causing aircraft with 157 passengers to deviate off course
In an incident that can only be described as what nightmares are made of for anyone with a fear of flying, two pilots fell asleep mid-flight, causing the aircraft to veer off course.
CNN reports that the Indonesian Transportation Ministry is set to investigate after both Batik Air pilots fell asleep. According to data on FlightAware, flight BTK 6723 took off on January 25 from Haluoleo International Airport at 8 am local time and was bound for Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.
There were 153 passengers and four airline attendants onboard the flight, which lasted two hours and 40 minutes.
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A report released by the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) reveals that the aircraft was being operated by the pilot-in-command (PIC), a 32-year-old Indonesian male, and a 28-year-old Indonesian male, who was the second-in-command (SIC).
As they prepared for take-off, the SIC informed the PIC that he “did not have proper rest.”
After the aircraft reached cruising altitude, the PIC asked for permission to rest, and the SIC took over. The SIC then asked for permission to avoid some bad weather, and the request was approved. Not long after, he “then inadvertently fell asleep.”
The Makassar Area Control Center (ACC) tried to contact the aircraft but received “no reply from the pilots.” ACC attempted to contact the aircraft repeatedly until 28 minutes after the last recorded transmission, when “the PIC woke up and was aware that the aircraft was not in the correct flight path. The PIC then saw the SIC was sleeping and woke him up.”
National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT)
The flight continued and landed at Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. No one was injured, and the aircraft was not damaged.
The report states that the SIC and his wife have one-month-old twin babies, and the day before the flight, he “had to wake up several times to help his wife take care of the babies.”
According to Antara, the transport ministry’s director general, M. Kristi Endah Murni, said, “We will conduct an investigation and review of the night flight operation in Indonesia regarding Fatigue Risk Management for Batik Air and other flight operators.”
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