Pilots Fell Asleep on Flight Carrying Over 150 People

(RepublicanPress.org) – A recent report indicated that pilots fell asleep on an Indonesian flight carrying over 150 people.

On March 9, the British news agency The Guardian reported that two pilots fell asleep for roughly half an hour mid-flight. Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) recently issued a nine-page preliminary report that confirmed the incident occurred on PT Batik Air Indonesia flight BTK6723, which was traveling from South East Sulawesi to Jakarta, the nation’s capital city, on January 25.

Indonesia opens inquiry after pilots fell asleep on flight carrying 153 people https://t.co/Wikz2Q2kYj

— Guardian news (@guardiannews) March 9, 2024

The KNKT reported that the pilot and co-pilot both fell asleep at the same time for roughly 28 minutes. As a result, the flight experienced multiple navigational errors. The agency’s nine-page report indicated that Jakarta Area Control Center officials attempted to contact the pilots several times as the plane approached the city. However, “none of the calls were responded to by the BTK6723 pilots.”

About 28 minutes after the last successful transmission, the pilot woke up, noted the plane had veered off course, corrected the aircraft’s flight path, and successfully landed at Jakarta’s Soekarno–Hatta International Airport. The flight’s four attendants and 153 passengers didn’t suffer from any injuries during the two-hour and 35-minute flight.

Indonesia’s Transport Ministry issued a strongly-worded reprimand to Batik Air over the incident. The ministry’s Director General of Civil Aviation, Maria Kristi Endah Murni, confirmed that the federal agency would conduct an “investigation and review of the flight operation” and assess Batik Air’s fatigue risk management program.

Batik Air issued a statement later that day acknowledging the incident. The air carrier vowed to “implement all safety recommendations” submitted by the KNKT once the agency’s probe into the incident was concluded. The airline also confirmed that it temporarily suspended both pilots.