The Indonesian Ministry of Transport announced on Saturday the opening of an investigation into the airline Batik Air, after it became public that
the two pilots of one of its planes fell asleep in mid-flight
with about 160 people on board.
The incident occurred on January 25, when the pilot and co-pilot fell asleep at the same time for about 28 minutes during a flight from Sulawesi - in northern Indonesia - to Jakarta, according to a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Committee ( KNKT (by its initials in Indonesian).
The incident caused
a series of navigation errors
, but all 153 passengers and four flight attendants on the Airbus A320 were unharmed during the two-hour, 35-minute journey.
According to the KNKT report, published at the end of February, one of the pilots
had not rested properly the night before
the flight.
Half an hour after takeoff,
the captain asked permission to rest from the copilot
, who took over the controls of the device but also ended up falling asleep, leaving the aircraft flying by instruments.
Twenty-eight minutes after the last recorded transmission,
the pilot woke up, realized that his co-pilot was asleep and that the plane was not following the correct flight path.
Immediately, given the urgency of the situation, he corrected her after waking up his partner and responding to Jakarta's calls.
The airline Batik Air and an unusual incident.
On Saturday, Batik Air said in a statement that it "operates with appropriate rest regulations" and is "committed to implementing all safety recommendations."
The pilots involved in the incident were temporarily suspended, the company added.
The Ministry of Transport "strongly reprimands" Batik Air for the incident, said Air Transport Director General Kristi Endah Murni, while
calling on airlines to pay more attention to crew rest
.
"We will conduct an investigation and review of the night flight operation in Indonesia related to fatigue risk management for Batik Air and all flight operators," Kristi said in a statement.
Investigators did not identify the pilots, but indicated that they were both Indonesians, ages 32 and 28.
KNKT urged Batik Air to create detailed procedures to ensure pilots and crew are properly rested before their flights.