An exhausted new father of twins and his co-pilot is suspected of allowing their airliner with 159 passengers on board to deviate off course after both falling asleep in the cockpit midair, according to Indonesian officials.
According to a report, Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee discovered that Batik Air aircraft BTK6723 began to deviate from its flight course on Jan. 25 when the pilot and his first officer, who were not officially identified, fell asleep for approximately 28 minutes.
After reaching cruising altitude on the two-hour and 35-minute flight 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 receiving consent from his second-in-command, the captain slept for an hour before briefly waking up to ask the 28-year-old if he wanted to trade positions.
After the younger first officer declined the offer, the captain returned to sleep, only to wake up 28 minutes later to discover that “the aircraft was not on the correct flight path” and his colleague was dozing, according to the report.
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When the captain awoke, he could return the plane in the correct direction and land it in Jakarta. The incident did not cause any injuries to any of the passengers or personnel on board the flight.
While both pilots were asleep, Jakarta’s air control center stated that it had made many attempts to contact them but had received no response.
According to officials, after questioning the pilots, the first officer claimed he had been busy caring for his 1-month-old twins in his new house and could not sleep well.
According to officials, the captain and his co-pilot were cleared to fly before the trip after passing health and alcohol tests.
According to a Batik Air statement, the pilots have already been “temporarily suspended.” The airline did not immediately return the Post’s request for comment.
Indonesia’s Transport Ministry “strongly reprimands” Batik Air for the event, and the government has launched an investigation to determine what went wrong.
“We will conduct an investigation and review of the night flight operations in Indonesia related to Fatigue Risk Management for Batik Air and all flight operators,” Kristi said in a statement to AFP.
This event in Indonesia serves as a reminder to regulators to avoid napping in midair. According to a poll conducted last July by the European Cockpit Association, about 75% of 6,893 pilots admitted to falling asleep at least once while flying a plane.