A preliminary report by Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee has revealed that two pilots who were operating a Batik Air flight both fell asleep causing the plane to veer off its designated path.
The report also states that both the pilot and co-pilot fell asleep simultaneously for 28 minutes during a flight on January 25, 2024, causing navigational errors as “the aircraft was not in the correct flight path.”
The plane, carrying 153 passengers and four crew members, had left Kendari, in the southeast of the island of Sulawesi, and was headed to Jakarta, a two-hour and 35-minute flight.
According to the report, the second-in-command (SIC) pilot had notified his co-pilot earlier in the day that he had not had “proper rest.”
As such the second-in-command went off to sleep for about 30 minutes after which the pilot in command also asked to take a nap as reported by the Indonesian authority.
“After the aircraft departed Kendari and reached cruising altitude, the pilot-in-command asked for permission to also rest, and the second-in-command took over the aircraft,” the report reads in part.
The pilot in command woke up after an hour and asked his cockpit mate whether he wanted to sleep, but the second in command declined, and maintained control of the aircraft.
“Around 90 minutes into the flight, the second-in-command then “inadvertently fell asleep,” noted the authority.
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Jakarta Area Control Reaching the Pilots
The report further stated that twelve minutes after the last recorded transmission by the co-pilot, the Jakarta area control center (ACC) tried to reach the aircraft, but there was no reply from the pilots.
Jakarta Area Control Centre (ACC) asked how long the aircraft needed to fly on the current heading (250°) but there was no reply from the pilots.
“Several attempts to contact BTK6723 had been made by the Jakarta ACC including asking other pilots to call the BTK6723,” the report said. “None of the calls were responded to by the BTK6723 pilots.”
“Around 28 minutes after the last recorded transmission, the pilot-in-command (PIC) woke up and realized the plane was not in the correct flight path. The PIC then saw the SIC was sleeping and woke him up,” it said.
About the same time, the pilot in Command responded to the call from another pilot and Jakarta ACC explaining that the aircraft experienced radio communication problems which they resolved.
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About the Plane PIC and SIC
However, report did not reveal the names of the pilots, but identified the pilot-in-command as a 32-year-old Indonesian male and the second-in-command as a 28-year-old Indonesian male.
The second-in-command had one-month-old twins and “had to wake up several times to help his wife take care of the babies,” as noted by the report.
Also, the Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety authority said that both pilots were cleared to fly before the January 25 flight after blood pressure and heart rate exams were considered normal and alcohol tests came back negative.
