Two pilots fall asleep mid-air for 28 minutes

Two pilots have been “temporarily suspended” after they both fell asleep during a two-hour and 35-minute flight, with 159 people on board.

A sleep-deprived new father of twins and his co-pilot allegedly fell asleep in the cockpit midair, officials in Indonesia said.

Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee found that Batik Air flight BTK6723 began to divert from its flight path on January 25 when both the pilot and his first officer, who were not publicly named, dozed off for around 28 minutes, according to a report on the incident.

After reaching cruising altitude during the flight, a two-hour and 35-minute trip from the island of South East Sulawesi to Jakarta, the 32-year-old pilot in command asked his 28-year-old deputy for permission to sleep, the New York Post reports.

A Batik Air flight went off course after both its pilots were asleep for 28 minutes during a two-hour and 35-minute trip. Picture: Batik Air

After getting approval from his second-in-command, the captain fell asleep for an hour, waking up briefly to ask the 28-year-old if he wanted to switch places.

After the younger first officer declined the offer, the captain went back to sleep only to wake up 28 minutes later to find that “the aircraft was not on the correct flight path” and his partner was napping, according to the report.

The plane had veered south of its intended destination at Jakarta on January 25. Picture: New York Post

Once the captain woke up, he was able to get the plane back on the correct path, landing it at Jakarta.

None of the passengers or employees aboard the flight were injured as a result of the incident.

During the time both pilots were asleep, Jakarta’s air control centre noted that it had made several calls to try and contact the pilots, but they were only met with silence.

Officials said that after interrogating the pilots, the first officer claimed he had been busy taking care of his one-month-old twins in his new home and has been struggling to get enough sleep.

The captain and his co-pilot had been deemed fit to fly prior to the trip, with both passing health checks and alcohol tests, according to officials.

The pilots have since been “temporarily suspended,” according to a statement from Batik Air. The airline did not immediately respond to the Post’s request for comment.

Indonesia’s Transport Ministry “strongly reprimands” Batik Air over the incident, with the government opening an investigation to find what went wrong.

“We will carry out an investigation and review of the night flight operation in Indonesia related with Fatigue Risk Management for Batik Air and all flight operators,” Kristi said in a statement to Agence France-Presse.

The incident in Indonesia should be a lesson to regulators not to sleep on midair napping. A survey last July from the European Cockpit Association found that out of 6,893 pilots question, about 75 per cent admitted to falling asleep at least once while flying a plane.

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission