The pilot and co-captain of Batik Air Indonesia are accused of causing the flight to deviate from its course after falling asleep in the cockpit during the flight, Indonesian authorities have announced. report.
According to a report by Indonesia’s National Transport Safety Board, flight BTK6723 on January 25 was carrying 153 passengers from Har Oreo Airport in Kendari to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta.
The report said the two pilots, whose names have not been released, had just completed a reverse flight from Jakarta to Kendari and fell asleep before returning home.
After the return flight to Jakarta took off and the plane reached a cruising altitude of 36,000 feet, the 32-year-old pilot asked for permission to take a break, the report said. After taking a nap, the captain asked the 28-year-old first officer if he wanted to rest, but the first officer replied that he did not.
After a short conversation, the pilot went back to sleep and handed control of the aircraft to his co-pilot, the report said.
The co-pilot asked to change the flight path to avoid bad weather while the pilot was asleep and was instructed to check with air traffic controllers when the weather cleared, the report said.
However, the co-pilot then accidentally fell asleep.
According to the report, the pilot woke up and realized that “the aircraft was not on the correct flight path.” The pilot saw the co-pilot sleeping and woke him up.
The flight then continued its course and landed safely in Jakarta, according to the report. No one was injured and there was no damage to the plane.
The report does not say whether any of the pilots were disciplined.
Batik Air did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Both pilots were cleared to fly before the Jan. 25 flight after blood pressure and heart rate tests were deemed normal and alcohol tests were negative, the report said.
However, reports said the co-pilot had been on a busy vacation for several days before the flight. Not only is he a father to his one-month-old twins, but he also moved house a few days before departure.
The suspect admitted to investigators that the night before his departure, his baby woke him up several times and his sleep quality deteriorated.
