Panic As Pilot, Co-pilot Fall Asleep On Flight To Indonesia

An incident occurred in Indonesia where a Batik Air plane drifted off its flight path when both the pilot and co-pilot were asleep for around thirty minutes.

The flight was en route from South East Sulawesi to the capital, Jakarta, when the cockpit crew took a nap. This caused the aircraft to deviate from its intended route and posed a serious safety threat to all 153 passengers on board.

Reports suggest that one of the pilots lacked sufficient rest the night before the flight. Approximately thirty minutes after departure, the captain asked the co-pilot for permission to take a short rest, to which the co-pilot agreed.

The co-pilot assumed control of the aircraft but subsequently fell asleep as well.

Following the co-pilot’s final recorded transmission, the Jakarta area control centre attempted to establish contact with the aircraft but received no response.

It took twenty-eight minutes for the pilot to wake up and realize that his co-pilot was asleep, and the aircraft had veered off its intended flight path.

The report mentioned that he quickly woke his colleague, answered the calls from Jakarta, and corrected the flight path.

Despite the incident causing a series of navigation errors, the Airbus A320’s 153 passengers and four flight attendants remained unharmed throughout the two-hour-and-35-minute flight.

Air Transport Director-General M. Kristi Endah Murni announced that the transport ministry has ‘strongly reprimanded’ Batik Air for the incident and urged airlines to be more vigilant about their air crews’ rest periods.

‘We will carry out an investigation and review of the night flight operation in Indonesia related with Fatigue Risk Management for Batik Air and all flight operators,’ Kristi said in a statement.

According to a statement released on Saturday, Batik Air declared that it follows an ‘adequate rest policy’ and is fully committed to implementing all safety recommendations.

The statement confirmed that the pilots implicated in the January 25 incident had been temporarily suspended, and the aircraft safely landed post-incident.

Indonesia’s transport ministry announced on Saturday its decision to open an investigation into the airline.