Pilots are allowed to sleep on flights, but there are conditions…

JAKARTA – The pilot and co-pilot of Batik Air airline with the destination Halu Oleo Kendari-Soekarno Hatta Airport is a hot topic of conversation. This is because on January 25 2024 their plane went off course because they both fell asleep at the same time.

When the plane went off course, the pilot and co-pilot slept for 28 minutes at the same time. However, after the pilot woke up, the plane returned to its original course and arrived in Jakarta safely.

From the KNKT report, it was stated that the co-pilot slept in the cockpit for 30 minutes with the pilot’s consent.

When the plane headed to Kendari, the pilot took over the copilot’s duties as monitoring pilot (PM) while carrying out his main duties as flying pilot (PF).

Then, when the plane was about to return from Kendari-Jakarta, it was the pilot’s turn to ask the co-pilot for permission to sleep to rest. However, then the co-pilot fell asleep accidentally. About 28 minutes into the recorded transmission, the KNKT report said the pilot realized that the plane had departed from the correct flight path.

Pilots can sleep, but there are conditions

International airline pilot and founder of Ilmuterbang.com Fadjar Nugroho said that a number of airlines actually regulate rest for pilots on planes which is called “controlled rest”.

Controlled rest is when the pilot sleeps in the aircraft cockpit. Controlled rest allows pilots to sleep a maximum of 45 minutes when workload is low.

Ideally, pilots are allowed to sleep for 10-20 minutes or take a power nap. That is, the stage of sleeping for a while to relieve fatigue is called non-rapid eye movement (NREM).

“This means that you don’t fall into deep sleep or deep sleep. “It’s better to sleep under 40 minutes,” said Fadjar.

Because, according to him, if you do more than that, it can actually cause dizziness or fatigue. “The purpose of controlled rest is to increase alertness and fill the pilot’s energy during periods of high workload, such as landing,” explained Fadjar.

(and)