A report concluded that during the Batik Air flight, the two pilots of the plane fell asleep for about 28 minutes. The flight, carrying 153 passengers and four crew members, was en route to Jakarta from the island of Sulawesi on January 25, taking 2 hours and 35 minutes.
The report did not identify the pilots, describing only the pilot as a 32-year-old Indonesian and the second pilot as a 28-year-old Indonesian. Both were deemed fit to fly, passed health checks and tested negative for alcohol, the report said.
About 30 minutes after takeoff, when the plane reached an altitude of 36,000 feet, the pilot asked his mate for permission to rest, which was granted. He fell asleep and woke up within an hour.
The pilot-in-command asked his cabin mate if he wanted to sleep, but he refused, and the first pilot continued to sleep while the mate was at the controls of the aircraft, according to the report.
The second pilot “inadvertently fell asleep” after making contact with the Jakarta area control center, the report said, noting that when the control center tried to contact the pilots later, there was no response.
“The Jakarta control center made several attempts to contact BTK6723, including asking other pilots to call BTK6723,” the report said. “No calls were answered by the pilots of BTK6723.”
Twenty-eight minutes after the second pilot's last recorded transmission, the first pilot awoke “and realized the aircraft was not on track,” the report said. The pilot returned the plane to the correct route and the plane landed in Jakarta, the report said.
Passengers and crew on board were not injured or there was no damage to the aircraft, the document said.
According to the report, the second pilot was caring for her one-month-old twins at home, had trouble sleeping and had changed residence the day before the flight.
Indonesia's director of civil aviation, Maria Christie Enda Murni, said the transport ministry “strongly condemns” Batik Air for the incident.
“We will examine and review the operation of night flights in Indonesia regarding the management of fatigue risk for Batik Air and all flight operators,” it said in a statement.
The two pilots have been “temporarily suspended,” AFP reported, citing a statement from Batik Air. Batik Air did not respond to a request for comment on Sunday.
Around the world, the aviation industry has long struggled with the issue of employee burnout, particularly among pilots and cabin crew.
A July survey of 6,893 pilots in Europe by aviation safety consultancy the European Cockpit Association found that 3 in 4 pilots had fallen asleep while flying in the month before the survey.
In 2022, Wizz Air's general director was the target of negative reactions from unions and pilot representatives after he appealed to staff exhausted by staff shortages to “work harder”, Sky News reported.
In August, the The Washington Post US federal authorities announced that they were investigating nearly 5,000 pilots suspected of falsifying their medical records to conceal that they were receiving treatment for mental disorders or other serious conditions.