Key PointsThe pilot and co-pilot have been asleep for roughly 28 minutes mid-flight.The airplane landed safely after the incident, with its 153 passengers and 4 flight attendants unhurt.The pilots concerned within the 25 January incident have been briefly suspended.
Indonesia’s transport ministry mentioned Saturday it might open a probe into native airline Batik Air after two of its pilots have been discovered to have fallen asleep throughout a latest flight.
A pilot and co-pilot have been concurrently asleep for roughly 28 minutes throughout a flight from South East Sulawesi to the capital Jakarta on 25 January, a preliminary report by the Nationwide Transportation Security Committee (KNKT) mentioned.
The incident resulted in a sequence of navigation errors, however the Airbus A320’s 153 passengers and 4 flight attendants have been unhurt through the two-hour-and-35-minute flight.
The transport ministry “strongly reprimands” Batik Air over the incident, air transport director-general M. Kristi Endah Murni mentioned, calling on airways to pay extra consideration to their air crew’s relaxation time.
“We are going to perform an investigation and assessment of the night time flight operation in Indonesia associated with Fatigue Danger Administration for Batik Air and all flight operators,” Kristi mentioned in a press release.
Batik Air mentioned in a press release on Saturday that it “operates with enough relaxation coverage” and that it was “dedicated to implement all security suggestions”.
The pilots concerned within the 25 January incident had been briefly suspended, the assertion added.
The KNKT report, seen by AFP on Friday, was uploaded to the company’s web site in late February.
One of many pilots had not rested adequately on the night time earlier than the flight, in line with the report.
About half an hour after the airplane took off, the captain requested permission from his second-in-command to relaxation for some time, with the request being granted.
The co-pilot then took over command of the plane, but in addition inadvertently fell asleep, the report mentioned.
“The second-in-command had one-month twin infants. His spouse took care of the infants and he assisted whereas at dwelling,” the report mentioned.
A couple of minutes after the final recorded transmission by the co-pilot, the world management centre in Jakarta tried to contact the plane. It acquired no reply.
Twenty-eight minutes after the final recorded transmission, the pilot awoke and realised his co-pilot was asleep and that the plane was not on the right flight path.
He instantly woke his colleague up, responded to the calls from Jakarta and corrected the flight path, the report mentioned.
The airplane landed safely after the incident.
Investigators didn’t determine the pilots however mentioned they have been each Indonesians and have been aged 32 and 28.
KNKT urged Batik Air to conduct common cockpit checks and be certain that pilots and cabin crew have been well-rested earlier than their flights.