According to preliminary findings, the two pilots of a domestic Indonesian aircraft on January 25 from Kendari to the country's capital Jakarta slept off for over thirty minutes during the two hours and thirty-five minute trip.
The investigation states that during the 28 minutes that the pilot and co-pilot were sleeping, the aircraft strayed off its intended trajectory.
After investigating the Batik Air trip, which had 157 passengers, the nation's National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) recognized that the aircraft finally made a safe landing at its destination.
The KNKT investigation merely said that the captain was 32 years old and the second-in-command was 28 years old, without identifying the pilots. Both nationals of Indonesia, they apparently passed medical examinations and had alcohol tests that came back negative.
But the co-pilot had told the captain earlier in the day that he had not had "proper rest," according to media sources. The father had relocated the day before the trip, had one-month-old twins, and was experiencing sleep deprivation, according to the KNKT investigation.
The captain requested permission from his co-pilot to take a nap around thirty minutes after departure, and he awoke less than an hour later, according to the report. Then he asked his cockpit companion whether he wanted to sleep himself, and when he did not hear back, he went back to sleep, leaving the mate in charge of the plane.
The copilot, meanwhile, subsequently "inadvertently fell asleep" after communication with the air traffic control center in Jakarta. The captain awoke to discover that the aircraft "was not on the correct flight path" after air traffic control made many attempts to reach the cockpit without getting a response, according to the report. This occurred 28 minutes later.
After the pilot corrected course, the aircraft made a safe landing in Jakarta. Both the airplane and anybody inside were unharmed.
The Transportation Ministry "strongly reprimands" Batik Air over the incident, according to Indonesia's director of civil aviation, Maria Kristi Endah Murni, who spoke to the news agency AFP. The two pilots have been placed on leave in accordance with standard operating procedure while an investigation is conducted.
The investigation states that during the 28 minutes that the pilot and co-pilot were sleeping, the aircraft strayed off its intended trajectory.
After investigating the Batik Air trip, which had 157 passengers, the nation's National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) recognized that the aircraft finally made a safe landing at its destination.
The KNKT investigation merely said that the captain was 32 years old and the second-in-command was 28 years old, without identifying the pilots. Both nationals of Indonesia, they apparently passed medical examinations and had alcohol tests that came back negative.
But the co-pilot had told the captain earlier in the day that he had not had "proper rest," according to media sources. The father had relocated the day before the trip, had one-month-old twins, and was experiencing sleep deprivation, according to the KNKT investigation.
The captain requested permission from his co-pilot to take a nap around thirty minutes after departure, and he awoke less than an hour later, according to the report. Then he asked his cockpit companion whether he wanted to sleep himself, and when he did not hear back, he went back to sleep, leaving the mate in charge of the plane.
The copilot, meanwhile, subsequently "inadvertently fell asleep" after communication with the air traffic control center in Jakarta. The captain awoke to discover that the aircraft "was not on the correct flight path" after air traffic control made many attempts to reach the cockpit without getting a response, according to the report. This occurred 28 minutes later.
After the pilot corrected course, the aircraft made a safe landing in Jakarta. Both the airplane and anybody inside were unharmed.
The Transportation Ministry "strongly reprimands" Batik Air over the incident, according to Indonesia's director of civil aviation, Maria Kristi Endah Murni, who spoke to the news agency AFP. The two pilots have been placed on leave in accordance with standard operating procedure while an investigation is conducted.
