JAKARTA – Indonesia’s transport ministry stated Saturday it will open a probe into native airline Batik Air after two of its pilots have been discovered to have fallen asleep throughout a latest flight.
A pilot and co-pilot have been concurrently asleep for roughly 28 minutes throughout a flight from South East Sulawesi to the capital Jakarta on January 25, a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) stated.
The incident resulted in a sequence of navigation errors, however the Airbus A320’s 153 passengers and 4 flight attendants have been unhurt in the course of the two-hour-and-35-minute flight.
The transport ministry “strongly reprimands” Batik Air over the incident, air transport director-general M. Kristi Endah Murni stated, calling on airways to pay extra consideration to their air crew’s relaxation time.
“We will carry out an investigation and review of the night flight operation in Indonesia related with Fatigue Risk Management for Batik Air and all flight operators,” Kristi stated in a press release.
Batik Air stated in a press release on Saturday that it “operates with adequate rest policy” and that it was “committed to implement all safety recommendations”.
The pilots concerned within the January 25 incident had been briefly suspended, the assertion added.
The KNKT report, seen by AFP on Friday, was uploaded to the company’s web site in late February.
One of the pilots had not rested adequately on the night time earlier than the flight, in line with the report.
About half an hour after the airplane took off, the captain requested permission from his second-in-command to relaxation for some time, with the request being granted.
The co-pilot then took over command of the plane, but additionally inadvertently fell asleep, the report stated.
“The second-in-command had one-month twin babies. His wife took care of the babies and he assisted while at home,” the report stated.
A couple of minutes after the final recorded transmission by the co-pilot, the world management centre in Jakarta tried to contact the plane. It acquired no reply.
Twenty-eight minutes after the final recorded transmission, the pilot wakened and realised his co-pilot was asleep and that the plane was not on the right flight path.
He instantly woke his colleague up, responded to the calls from Jakarta and corrected the flight path, the report stated.
The airplane landed safely after the incident.
Investigators didn’t determine the pilots, however stated they have been each Indonesians and have been aged 32 and 28.
KNKT urged Batik Air to conduct common cockpit checks and make sure that pilots and cabin crew have been well-rested earlier than their flights. — Agence France-Presse
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
