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Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —
National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC) reveals the second confession pilot Batik Air fell asleep during the Kendari-Jakarta flight for 28 minutes.
Based on the Batik Air Indonesia schedule, the flight has a block time of 2 hours 35 minutes until it reaches its destination.
The two pilots fell asleep while controlling the plane on January 25, causing a series of navigation errors.
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The following is the confession of the Batik Air pilot who fell asleep during the flight for almost half an hour.
The pilot captain admitted he was sleepy
The incident began when the 32 year old pilot captain and 28 year old copilot were operating flight ID6723.
When the plane reached cruising altitude, at around 08:37 local time, both crew members removed their headsets, the pilot asked the co-pilot first if he could fall asleep. The co-pilot agreed.
Kipilot immediately took over as pilot for the next 40 minutes before his colleague actually woke up. The pilot captain immediately asked if the copilot wanted to rest.
The co-pilot refused and chose to continue his duties.
At around 08.43 WIB, the copilot who was still flying the plane made initial contact with Jakarta air traffic controllers. He was instructed to go to the KURUS waypoint located northeast of the capital’s airport.
At that time, the plane was flying in a direction of 250° and was east of the waypoint.
Doesn’t respond to control center calls
About 1 minute after contact with Jakarta, the copilot “accidentally” fell asleep.
The Jakarta area air control center (ATC) asked the crew how long the A320 needed to fly on its current course, but received no response.
A number of attempts were made by the ATC crew to contact the aircraft, including asking another pilot to call the flight crew.
About 28 minutes after the first officer fell asleep, the captain woke up and realized that the plane “was not on the right track,” the NTSC said.
He woke his colleague and responded to a call from the Jakarta area control center, saying they were “experiencing radio communication problems”, due to their lack of response.
Landed safely after sleeping for 28 minutes
The KNKT revealed that even though he had slept for 28 minutes, the plane was lucky to land safely in Jakarta, there was no damage to the plane or injuries to the passengers.
Investigators found no problems with the plane’s communications systems.
“Before the flight there were no records or reports of damage to the aircraft system. After (the incident), the aircraft radio communication system was found to be in normal condition,” he said, according to Flight Global.
According to KNKT, the same flight crew had operated the Jakarta-Kendari flight on the same morning.
The flight is scheduled to depart at 02:55 local time, and the flight crew must log in at 01:25.
Pilots don’t get enough rest
The NTSC found the younger pilot had told his friend that he “didn’t get enough rest” the previous night.
Officers noted that the co-pilot was a new parent, with a pair of one-month-old twins
Although the night before he was scheduled to fly to Kendari, he tried to go to bed early, he “had to wake up several times to help his wife look after the baby”, and felt “the quality of his sleep had decreased” as a result.
He was allowed to rest on the flight to Kendari, while the captain took over the pilot’s flying duties.
The NTSC urged Batik Air Indonesia to “develop detailed procedures for conducting cockpit inspections to ensure that cockpit inspections can be carried out properly.”
In its initial findings, the committee noted Batik Air Indonesia’s operating guidelines cover pilot health and medical fitness, including a “personal checklist” to identify “factors that may impair human performance.”
The Ministry of Transportation strongly reprimanded and investigated Batik Air
The Ministry of Transportation (Kemenhub) said it would give a strong warning to Batik Air airline following the pilot and co-pilot sleeping 28 minutes while the plane was flying.
Directorate General of Civil Aviation of the Ministry of Transportation, M. Kristi Endah Murni, said that airlines need to pay attention to the time and quality of rest for pilots and other flight crew, which affects alertness in flight.
Kristi also said that she would carry out an investigation and review of night flight operations in Indonesia, related to Fatigue Risk Management (fatigue risk management) for Batik Air and also all flight operators.
(can/flower)
[Gambas:Video CNN]