Pilots FALL ASLEEP in mid-air and veer off flight path as desperate air traffic controllers try to wake them

TWO pilots of a commercial aircraft fell asleep simultaneously while mid-air, an investigation has revealed.

A pilot and co-pilot were simultaneously asleep for about 28 minutes as their plane, packed with 153 passengers, veered off the flight path.

AFP

Two pilots were simultaneously asleep for about 28 minutes mid-flight[/caption]

AFP

Workers unload luggage from a Batik Air passenger plane in Blang Bintang, Aceh[/caption]

The Batik Air flight was headed from South East Sulawesi to Indonesia’s capital Jakarta on January 25 when disaster struck, according to a preliminary report by the national air safety agency.

Findings detailed in the report, which was uploaded to the agency’s website, indicated the pilots had not rested adequately the night before the flight.

Shortly after taking off, the captain of the plane asked permission from his second-in-command to rest for a while.

The request was granted.

It was said in the report that the co-pilot then took command of the Airbus A320 aircraft – but also fell asleep, “inadvertently”.

The report explained: “The second-in-command had one-month twin babies.

“His wife took care of the babies and he assisted while at home.”

The area control centre in Jakarta tried to contact the aircraft 12 minutes after the last recorded transmission by the co-pilot, but received no answer.

Twenty-eight minutes after the last recorded transmission from the co-pilot, the pilot woke up and realised that the plane was not in the right flight path – and that his co-pilot was asleep.

He woke his colleague, responded to the calls by officials, corrected the flight path, and the plane was able to land safely, according to the report.

The incident resulted in a number of navigation errors but the plane’s passengers and four flight attendants were not injured, nor was the aircraft damaged, during the two-hour-and-35-minute flight.

Investigators said the pilot-in-command was 32 years old and the second-in-command was 28. Both were Indonesian.

According to the report, the pilot woke up about 5.30am local time the day before the flight.

He went about his daily life then went to sleep at 8pm, waking at 10pm to prepare to go to the airport where crew were required to sign in for duty at 1.25am for a 2.55am flight.

The co-pilot reportedly attempted to sleep about 7pm the night before the flight but woke several times through the night to help his wife take care of their babies.

The report stated: “The SIC [second-in-command] felt that his sleep quality had degraded by the several wakes up.”

He woke up about midnight to prepare to go to the airport and signed on at the flight operation office at 1.26am.

Prior to conducting the flight on January 25, the pilot had a “rest period” of 35 hours and the co-pilot a “rest period” of 53 hours.

The National Transportation Safety Committee has since urged airline Batik Air to create detailed procedures to conduct proper and regular cockpit checks and ensure all crew members are well-rested before their flights.

The Sun has reached out to Batik Air for further information.