KNKT Reveals Investigation of Pilot, Co-pilot Fall Asleep on Flight

Jakarta – The pilot and co-pilot were simultaneously asleep for about 28 minutes. The Batik Air flight was travelling from South East Sulawesi to the Indonesian capital, Jakarta (January 25) preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT).

The incident resulted in a series of navigation errors, but the Airbus A320’s 153 passengers and four flight attendants were unharmed during the flight that lasted two hours and 35 minutes.

KNKT revealed that initially, the pilot and copilot were assigned to fly from Jakarta to Kendari and back using an Airbus A320, with registration code PK-LUV.

Before departing from Jakarta, the copilot mentioned to the pilot that they were lacking rest.

Subsequently, the pilot offered them to sleep, and the copilot rested for 30 minutes. The flight proceeded smoothly.

Upon arrival in Kendari, the pilot and copilot ate instant noodles in the cockpit while resting awaiting the next flight schedule.

During the return flight, the copilot served as the pilot flying (PF), and the captain served as the pilot monitoring (PM).

The preparation and flying process back to Jakarta went smoothly. The aircraft took off at 7.05 a.m. local time, with a total of 153 passengers on board.

After a few minutes, Jakarta ACC asked the copilot how long they would be on that route. However, neither the copilot nor the pilot responded.

Then about 28 minutes after the last transmission, the pilot woke up and realized the copilot was asleep, and the aircraft was off course.

The pilot immediately woke up the copilot and responded to calls from ACC and other aircraft.

The aircraft was then redirected to the correct flight path and successfully landed at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

"28 minutes after the last transmission recorded from the copilot, the pilot woke up from sleep and realized that the aircraft was no longer on the correct flight path," KNKT wrote on its official website on Monday.

KNKT didn't mention the names of the pilot and copilot, but reported that they were Indonesian citizens aged 32 and 28 years old.

The pilot holds an ATPL license and has accumulated 6,304 flight hours. Meanwhile, the copilot has 1,665 flight hours.

In a safety action signed by KNKT Chief Soerjanto Tjahjono, KNKT issued a Safety Notice on February 7, 2024, to all pilots and flight attendants to increase vigilance and communication, check the cabin and cockpit according to procedures, ensure sufficient rest before duty, and ensure personal fitness.

"KNKT recommends Batik Air Indonesia to develop detailed procedures for cockpit checks to ensure that cockpit checks can be carried out properly," KNKT stated.

In response to the incident, Batik Air gave a punishment to both pilots. It temporarily suspended the pilot who fell asleep for 28 minutes while flying the Kendari to Jakarta route.