Passenger jet pilots fall asleep for nearly 30 minutes as flight with 159 people board veers off course in latest disturbing airline mishap
Don’t fly the drowsy skies!
A sleep-deprived new father of twins and his co-pilot are accused allowing their airliner with 159 people on board to veer off course after they both fell asleep in the cockpit midair, officials in Indonesia said.
Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee found that Batik Air flight BTK6723 began to divert from its flight path on Jan. 25 when both the pilot and his first officer, who were not publicly named, dozed off for around 28 minutes, according to a report on the incident.
After reaching cruising altitude during the flight, a two-hour and 35-minute trip from the island of South East Sulawesi to Jakarta, the 32-year-old pilot in command asked his 28-year-old deputy for permission to sleep.
After getting approval from his second-in-command, the captain fell asleep for an hour, waking up briefly to ask the 28-year-old if he wanted to switch places.
After the younger first officer declined the offer, the captain went back to sleep only to wake up 28 minutes later to find that “the aircraft was not on the correct flight path” and his partner was napping, according to the report.
Once the captain woke up, he was able to get the plane back on the correct path, landing it at Jakarta. None of the passengers or employees aboard the flight were injured as a result of the incident.
During the time both pilots were asleep, Jakarta’s air control center noted that it had made several calls to try and contact the pilots, but they were only met with silence.
Officials said that after interrogating the pilots, the first officer claimed he had been busy taking care of his 1-month-old twins in his new home and has been struggling to get enough sleep.
The captain and his co-pilot had been deemed fit to fly prior to the trip, with both passing health checks and alcohol tests, according to officials.
The pilots have since been “temporarily suspended,” according to a statement from Batik Air. The airline did not immediately respond to the Post’s request for comment.
Indonesia’s Transport Ministry “strongly reprimands” Batik Air over the incident, with the government opening an investigation to find what went wrong.
“We will carry out an investigation and review of the night flight operation in Indonesia related with Fatigue Risk Management for Batik Air and all flight operators,” Kristi said in a statement to Agence France-Presse.
The incident in Indonesia should be a lesson to regulators not to sleep on midair napping. A survey last July from the European Cockpit Association found that out of 6,893 pilots question, about 75% admitted to falling asleep at least once while flying a plane.
