Two Indonesian airline pilots have come under fire after an accident report revealed they both fell asleep during a January flight with more than 150 people on board. The pilots lost contact for about 30 minutes and woke up to find the plane had veered off course, the report said.
The incident occurred on January 25 on a round-trip Batik Air Indonesia flight between Kendari’s Har Oreo Airport and Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. During preparations for the first leg of the flight from Jakarta to Kendari, the co-pilot told the captain that the 28-year-old, who has about 1,600 flight hours, was not getting proper rest. According to the report By the Indonesian National Transportation Safety Board. The 32-year-old pilot-in-command, who has about 6,300 flight hours, gave his co-pilot about a 30-minute break midway through the flight.
On the flight back to Jakarta, with 153 passengers and four flight attendants on board, the captain asked the co-pilot (who had taken a nap during the first leg) if he could take turns taking a break, and he was granted permission. Ta. After some time, the pilot woke up and asked the other pilots if they wanted to take a nap, but they declined.
About 20 minutes later, the second pilot “inadvertently fell asleep” while at about 36,000 feet, according to the accident report.
Air traffic controllers and other pilots tried to contact the napping pilot to no avail. Then, 28 minutes after the last recorded transmission, the pilot in command woke up and immediately “realized that the aircraft was not on the correct flight path.”
“The photo [pilot in command] Then I saw SIC [second in command] “He was asleep and I woke him up,” the report said. “At about the same time, the captain responded to a call from Jakarta ACC with another pilot.” The captain reported to Jakarta ACC that BTK6723 experienced a radio communication problem, but the problem has now been resolved. The flight then continued and landed in Jakarta without incident. ”
Indonesia National Transportation Safety Board
Investigators said no one was injured and there was no damage to the aircraft.
The flight’s unnamed lead pilot had taken a 35-hour rest period before the accident, which involved exercises, family visits, and exercise, but the flight’s co-pilot, who was not named in the report, The rest time was 53 hours.
The co-pilot, also a father of one-month-old twins, had moved two days before the flight, according to the report. The suspect told investigators that the day before he was to fly, he “had to get up multiple times” to take care of his child, and that he “felt that the quality of his sleep was decreasing” in the process. he stated.
Batik Air announced on Saturday that it had suspended two pilots, AFP reported.
The safety committee recommended measures to prevent such incidents from happening again. One of those recommendations is the further development of a personal checklist for Batik Air Indonesia pilots. This is intended to check pilots for illness, drug impairment, stress, alcohol, fatigue and emotional state before flying.
“Without detailed instructions and procedures, the pilot may not have been able to adequately assess his physical and mental condition,” the accident report states. “Therefore, KNKT has developed detailed guidance and procedures for Batik Air Indonesia to ensure that the IM SAFE personal checklist can be used to properly assess the physical and mental condition of pilots. We recommend that you do so.”
Plane cockpits are also supposed to be inspected every 30 minutes, but the investigation found that “detailed procedures were lacking” and that “the cockpit inspection policy may not have been properly implemented.” ”.
The airline said it was “operating under an appropriate rest policy” and was “committed to implementing all safety recommendations,” according to AFP news agency.