Batik Air suspends 2 Indonesian pilots who fell asleep in cockpit during flight

Batik Air suspends pilots who fell asleep mid-flight

Batik Air has temporarily suspended two of its pilots after they fell asleep in the cockpit mid-air.

The flight was on its way to Jakarta from Sulawesi when it veered off course and flew past the Indonesian capital.

Its pilot and co-pilot were unresponsive to messages from air traffic control and another plane for almost half an hour before the former woke up.

Batik Air suspends pilots who fell asleep mid-flight

On Saturday (9 March), Batik Air released a statement to Bloomberg confirming the suspension of the two Indonesian pilots who fell asleep mid-air.

A National Transportation Safety Commission (NTSC) report about the incident previously showed that the pilot told the co-pilot to “take a rest” because he knew the latter did not get enough rest.

The report also showed that the co-pilot was sleep-deprived as he was caring for his one-month-old twin babies before the flight.

In response, Batik Air maintained in its statement that it has a rest policy for its crew that is adequate and in adherence to regulations.

This ensures that crew members are in “optimal physical and mental condition” at work.

Pilot & co-pilot were unresponsive for 28 minutes

The incident involving the sleeping pilots happened on 25 Jan, onboard Jakarta-bound Flight 6723 from Kendari, Sulawesi.

The craft, an Airbus A320, was carrying 153 passengers on board when it deviated from its intended route and flew past Jakarta, towards the Indian Ocean.

It was at that moment that air traffic control and another plane tried to communicate with the pilot and co-pilot of the flight. However, they were both unresponsive.

After 28 minutes from the co-pilot’s last transmission, the pilot woke up and discovered that his second-in-command was also asleep. The pilot proceeded to wake the co-pilot up and correct the course of the plane.

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Featured image adapted from Afriadi Hikmal/NurPhoto/Getty Images via NBC News.