The report does not identify the pilots, only stating that the pilot in command was a 32-year-old Indonesian national, and the co-pilot was a 28-year-old Indonesian national. The report said both men passed a medical examination and tested negative for alcohol, so they were deemed fit to fly.
Approximately 30 minutes after departure, when the aircraft reached a cruising altitude of 36,000 feet, the captain asked the co-pilot for permission to rest, which he received. The pilot in command fell asleep and woke up a little less than an hour later.
According to the report, the captain then asked his colleague in the cockpit if he wanted to sleep, but the first officer refused, so the first pilot continued to sleep while the first officer continued to fly the aircraft.
The report said that after contacting the control center in Jakarta, the second pilot “accidentally fell asleep,” and that the control center then tried to contact the pilots but received no response. It pointed out.
“Several attempts were made by Jakarta ACC to contact BTK6723, including asking other pilots to call BTK6723,” the report said. “The pilot of BTK6723 did not answer any calls.”
Twenty-eight minutes after the last recorded communication from the second pilot, the first pilot awoke and “realized the aircraft was not on the correct flight path,” according to the report. The pilot brought the flight back on track and the plane landed in Jakarta, the report said.
The report said passengers and employees on the flight were unharmed and there was no damage to the aircraft.
The second pilot had been caring for the one-month-old twins at home, but had become sleep deprived and had moved the day before the flight, according to the report.
According to Agence France-Presse, Indonesia's Civil Aviation Director-General Maria Cristi Enda Murni said the Ministry of Transport had “strongly reprimanded” Batik Air over the incident.
“We will conduct an investigation and review of Batik Air's and all airlines' night flight operations in Indonesia related to fatigue risk management,” she said in a statement.
Two pilots have been “temporarily suspended”, AFP news agency reported, citing a statement from Batik Air. Batik Air did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday.
The aviation industry around the world has been grappling with the issue of fatigue among staff, especially pilots and flight attendants, for many years.
A survey of 6,893 European pilots conducted in July by the European Cockpit Association aviation safety consultancy found that three out of four pilots had fallen asleep while flying a plane in the month preceding the survey. .
In 2022, Wizz Air's managing director faced backlash from trade union and pilot representatives after he urged exhausted staff to “go the extra mile” amid staff shortages, Sky News reports. It is said that he faced
In August, The Washington Post reported that U.S. federal authorities had accessed medical records to conceal the fact that they were receiving benefits for mental illness or other serious illnesses that could be classified as unfit to fly. It was reported that approximately 5,000 pilots suspected of tampering were investigated.
