Two Indonesian Airline Pilots Fall Asleep During Flight
Incident Report Reveals Shocking Negligence
Two pilots of an Indonesian airline have come under fire after an incident report revealed they both fell asleep during a January flight with over 150 people on board. The pilots were unreachable for roughly half an hour, waking to find that the plane had veered off course, according to a report by Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee.
The incident occurred on a roundtrip Batik Air Indonesia flight between Halu Oleo Airport in Kendari and Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta on January 25. During preparation for the first leg of the flight from Jakarta to Kendari, the second-in-command pilot – a 28-year-old with roughly 1,600 hours of flying time – informed the pilot in command that he did not have proper rest.
On the flight back to Jakarta, the commanding pilot asked the secondary pilot – who had napped during the first leg – if he could take a turn to rest, which was granted. A little while later, the second pilot fell asleep, causing concern among air traffic controllers and other pilots, as they were unable to reach the napping pilots.
“The pilot in command then saw the second-in-command pilot was sleeping and woke him up,” the report states. “The pilot-in-command responded to the call from another pilot and Jakarta Air Traffic Control to inform them of a radio communication problem which had since been resolved. The flight then continued and landed in Jakarta safely.”
Investigators confirmed there were no injuries and no damage to the aircraft. It was revealed that while the unnamed primary pilot had a rest period of 35 hours prior to the incident, the secondary pilot, who was not named in the report, had 53 hours of rest time.
The incident report revealed that the secondary pilot is also a new father of month-old twins who recently moved homes. He stated that he had to wake up several times the day before the flight to care for his children, leading to a degraded sleep quality.
Batik Air confirmed that the two pilots have been suspended. The National Transportation Safety Committee has recommended several measures to prevent such incidents in the future, including further development of Batik Air Indonesia’s personal checklist for pilots to assess their physical and mental condition before flying. The report also highlighted the need for more detailed procedures in the cockpit check policy.
The airline has stated its commitment to implementing all safety recommendations. The incident serves as a reminder of the critical importance of ensuring the well-being and attentiveness of flight crews through proper rest and detailed safety procedures.
