(Jacob Bruns, Headline USA) A Batik Air Indonesia flight went off-course as the pilot and copilot both napped while the plane was cruising, NBC reported.
The Indonesian flight took place on Jan. 25, carrying 153 passengers. It was to fly from Halu Oleo Airport in Kendari to Soekarno–Hatta International Airport in Jakarta according to an Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee preliminary report.
The 32-year-old pilot reportedly requested to sleep while the 28-year-old copilot took control after takeoff.
While the pilot slept, the copilot changed the course of the plane to avoid bad weather before falling asleep himself.
Both pilots were asleep simultaneously for approximately 28 minutes.
The pilot upon waking saw “that the aircraft was not in the correct flight path.”
He immediately woke his colleague and corrected the course. Fortunately for the pilot and all on board, the plane had maintained its altitude, and had only slightly veered off course from its final destination.
None on board were hurt.
Upon further investigation, it was revealed that the copilot had gotten minimal sleep due to his 1-month-old twins that his wife recently gave birth to.
The night before the flight, the copilot had “attempted to sleep, however he had to wake up several times to help his wife take care of the babies,” the report noted. “The SIC [second in command] felt that his sleep quality had degraded by the several wakes up.
The report suggested that measures would be taken to avoid future situations of the sort, such as routine checks on the pilots by flight attendants, and additional steps to ensure that pilots have been getting “sufficient, adequate, and good quality rest.”
The investigation, however, will continue. The committee’s civil aviation director-general, Maria Kristi Endah Murni, noted that officials intended to take a closer look at the situation and think through ways to mitigate such events in the future.
“We will conduct an investigation and review of the night flight operation in Indonesia regarding the Fatigue Risk Management for Batik Air and other flight operators,” Murni said.
