Indonesia’s aviation safety agency announced the results of an investigation into the incident where both pilots on an Indonesian commercial airliner fell asleep while the plane was carrying 153 passengers.
Batik Air plane (Illustration photo: Facebook).
Indonesia’s national aviation safety committee KNKT has called for a better pilot fatigue monitoring mechanism to be established, after an investigation found that both pilots on a commercial jet were asleep. forgot on the plane in January.
A preliminary KNKT report said that a captain and co-pilot slept for about 28 minutes at the same time during a Batik Air flight from southeast Sulawesi to the capital Jakarta on January 25.
Indonesia is a large archipelago but has a low level of aviation safety even though it depends heavily on air transport to connect its thousands of islands.
The incident led to a series of aircraft navigation errors, but the 153 passengers and 4 flight attendants on the Airbus A320 remained safe during the 2 hour 35 minute flight.
The report said one of the two pilots did not get enough rest the night before the flight.
About half an hour after the plane took off, the captain told the co-pilot that he would rest for a while.
However, after taking control of the plane, the co-pilot accidentally fell asleep.
“The co-pilot has two one-month-old twins. His wife takes care of the children and he helps with housework,” the report said.
While the two pilots fell asleep, the air traffic control center in Jakarta tried to contact the plane but received no response.
About 28 minutes after the last transmission between the plane and the air traffic station, the captain woke up and discovered that the co-pilot was falling asleep. At that time, the plane deviated from its flight path.
The captain woke up the co-pilot, responded to the air traffic station and adjusted the flight path. The plane then landed safely.
Investigators did not identify the pilots but said they were all Indonesian, aged 32 and 28.
KNKT called on Batik Air to develop detailed procedures to conduct regular and appropriate cockpit inspections and ensure that pilots and cabin crew are adequately rested before their flights.
Batik Air has not commented on the incident.