Batik Air suspends napping pilots
Published on: Monday, March 11, 2024
By: Bernama
Two Batik Air pilots have been suspended after the co-pilot, who was supposed to stay awake while the pilot slept, also fell asleep at the controls.
JAKARTA: Indonesia’s Batik Air has suspended two pilots after an incident where both were found asleep during a domestic flight in January, the airline said.
The pilot took a nap during the return flight to Jakarta from Kendari in Sulawesi after reaching cruising altitude, but the co-pilot then also unintentionally fell asleep while at the controls, Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) said in a report, according to DPA news.
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“Batik Air took preventive action by temporarily suspending the pilots of flight number ID-6723 on the Kendari to Jakarta route, who served on Jan 25,” airline spokesman Danang Mandala Prihantoro said in a statement over the weekend.
The lapse resulted in a loss of communication when the aircraft strayed from its intended path and Jakarta air traffic control could not reach the flight for 28 minutes, KNKT said.
The situation was rectified when the first pilot woke up and re-established communication, attributing the silence to a radio issue, the report added. The aircraft landed safely in Jakarta.
The airline said it was reinforcing its safety protocols and emphasising the importance of rest for its crew.
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The KNKT report said the first pilot had a rest period of 35 hours.
The co-pilot, who is a new parent to one-month-old twins, had 53 hours of rest but suffered from disrupted sleep.
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“His wife took care of the babies but he assisted while at home,” the report said.
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