According to a preliminary study by Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee, two pilots aboard an aircraft carrying 157 other people fell asleep in the middle of the flight, leading the plane to deviate from its intended path
Then, both pilots fell asleep. The Airbus A320 temporarily swerved off course before landing successfully, with all 153 passengers and crew members unhurt. The aircraft, which lasted two hours and 35 minutes, eventually arrived safely in Jakarta.
Both guys were provisionally suspended after falling asleep on a trip from Sulawesi to Jakarta on January 25.
One of them was exhausted from caring for his newborn twins.
According to the KNKT report, the plane was supposed to fly from Jakarta to Kenderi and then back. After cruising at 36,000 feet, the pilot instructed the co-pilot to rest, and he slept for “about 30 minutes” inside the cockpit. The co-pilot (also known as the second-in-command pilot) awoke before the plane began to descend toward Kenderi.
Jakarta air traffic control attempted to reach the cockpit of the Batik Air A320 following their last recorded transmission but received no answer.
The radio silence lasted 28 minutes, until the lead pilot awoke and discovered that his co-pilot had also fallen asleep. He also discovered that the airplane had briefly deviated from course.
The pilots then responded to requests from Jakarta, landing the jet safely.
Medical checks conducted before the flight determined that the men were fit to fly. Their blood pressure and pulse rate were normal, and the alcohol test came back negative.
However, while the pilots appeared to be adequately rested, the tests did not identify whether the quality of their slumber was adequate, aviation expert Alvin Lie told Indonesian.
Authorities have now “strongly reprimanded” Batik Air for the event, with Indonesia’s chief of air transport, M. Kristi Endah Murni, stating that the airline should pay greater attention to their crew’s rest times.
Batik Air has stated that it “operates with an adequate rest policy” and that it “is committed to implementing all safety recommendations.”
Around the world, the airline industry has long struggled with employee weariness, notably among pilots and cabin personnel.
A July survey of 6,893 pilots in Europe by an aviation safety consultant for the European Cockpit Association discovered that three out of every four pilots fell asleep while flying a plane in the month preceding the poll.
In 2022, Wizz Air’s managing director received anger from unions and pilot organizations after urging exhausted colleagues to go the “extra mile” amid shortages.
The Washington Post reported in August that federal officials in the United States were investigating over 5,000 pilots suspected of faking their medical records in order to conceal that they were getting benefits for mental health issues and other serious ailments that could render them unfit for flight.