Jakarta. Reports have emerged regarding an incident where both the pilot and co-pilot of a Batik Air flight from Southeast Sulawesi to Jakarta allegedly fell asleep for approximately 28 minutes on Jan. 25. This information was disclosed in a report by the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) recently.

The report on Feb. 27 indicates that one of the pilots did not get sufficient rest the night before the flight due to attending to his twin babies the day before the incident.

Despite resulting in a series of navigation errors, the incident did not cause harm to the 153 passengers and four flight attendants aboard the Airbus A320 during the two-hour, 35-minute flight.

According to the report, the incident unfolded about half an hour after takeoff when the captain requested a brief break from the second-in-command (SIC), a request that was granted.

The report states that the co-pilot then took control of the aircraft but unintentionally also fell asleep.

"At 01:43:32 UTC (Coordinated Universal Time), the SIC initiated contact with Jakarta ACC (Area Control Center). Flight BTK6723 was instructed to follow the KURUS 2G Standard Instrument Arrival (STAR) and report when clear of bad weather conditions. The SIC acknowledged the instruction at 01:43:42 UTC before unintentionally falling asleep," KNKT Chairman Soerjanto Tjahjono said in his report.

Twelve minutes after the last recorded transmission from the SIC, Jakarta ACC inquired how long the aircraft needed to continue on its current heading, receiving no response. Despite multiple attempts to establish contact, including calls from other pilots, there was no response from BTK6723.

At 02:11 UTC, or 28 minutes after the last recorded transmission, the pilot-in-command (PIC) woke up, realizing the aircraft was off course. The PIC discovered the SIC asleep and woke him up. The PIC then responded to calls from other pilots and Jakarta ACC, stating that BTK6723 experienced a radio communication problem that had been resolved. The flight subsequently continued and landed in Jakarta without further incident.

The 32-year-old PIC, an Indonesian national, passed the necessary health checks, including normal blood pressure and heart rate, and a negative alcohol test, making him fit for duty.

The 28-year-old SIC, also an Indonesian national, passed the health checks but had been deprived of sleep due to caring for his one-month-old twin babies the day before the incident. 

"The SIC attempted to sleep, however, he had to wake up several times to help his wife take care of the babies. The SIC felt that his sleep quality had degraded by the several wakes up," the report stated.

The KNKT report highlights a lack of detailed cockpit check procedures, as outlined in Batik Air Indonesia's Safety Emergency Procedures (SEP), raising concerns about proper implementation. KNKT recommends that Batik Air Indonesia develop detailed cockpit check procedures to ensure their effective execution.

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