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Journalism of Courage
Two pilots of a Batik Air flight with 153 passengers on board fell asleep mid-air during a flight from Sulawesi to Jakarta. According to BBC, the flight briefly “veered off” course, but landed safely with all the passengers and crew members unharmed. The incident took place on January 15.
Reports stated that the 32-year-old pilot had asked his 28-year-old co-pilot to take control of the aircraft after the take-off as he needed to rest. However, the co-pilot too fell asleep and had been helping his wife with their month-old twin babies. When Jakarta air traffic control tried contacting the cockpit they received no response for 28 minutes.
The lead pilot woke up and realised his co-pilot had fallen asleep too. The National Transportation Safety Committee released a report that read, “The pilot-in-command (PIC) then saw the second-in-command (SIC) was sleeping and woke him up. At about the same time, the PIC responded to the call from another pilot and Jakarta ACC.
The PIC advised the Jakarta ACC that BTK6723 experienced radio communication problem and currently the problem has been resolved. The flight then continued and landed at Jakarta uneventfully. No one was injured in this occurrence and there was no damage to the aircraft.”
Following the incident, the authorities “strongly reprimanded” Batik Air and suspended the pilots.
Reports also said medical tests before the flight deemed the pilots fit to fly as their heart rate and blood pressure were normal. They appeared fully rested, however, the tests failed to determine whether the quality of their rest was good.
