Brilio.net - The pilot and copilot or first officer of Batik Air fell asleep simultaneously for 28 minutes when the plane was at an altitude of 36 thousand feet. This incident occurred when the two pilots flew the plane from Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi (Sultra) to Jakarta on January 25 2024. At that time, there were 153 passengers and 4 flight attendants on the plane.
Reported by brilio.net from Flight Global on Saturday (9/3), the NTSC classified the incident as a serious error that caused a series of navigation errors. KNKT investigators explained that the two Batik Air pilots on duty were a 32 year old pilot and a 28 year old copilot.
Both operate an Airbus A320 aircraft with flight number ID6723 from Kendari to Jakarta. The chronology of the incident was when the plane reached cruising altitude at around 08.37 local time. The two Batik Air crew members took off their headsets, then the pilot asked the copilot if he could sleep. The copilot also allowed and took over control as the pilot to fly the plane for 40 minutes.
After it was time to change shifts, his colleague asked if the copilot wanted to take a turn to rest, but the copilot refused the offer and continued his duties. At around 08.43 WIB, the copilot who was still flying the plane made initial contact with Jakarta air traffic control and received orders to go to the KURUS waypoint which is located northeast of the airport. At that time, the Airbus A320 was flying in a direction of 250 and was east of the waypoint.
photo: Facebook/Lion Air Group
About 1 minute after contact with Jakarta, the copilot accidentally fell asleep. The Jakarta regional control center asked the Batik Air crew how long the A320 would need to fly on its current route, but received no response. Various attempts were made to contact the plane, including asking another pilot to call the Batik Air crew.
Copilot fell asleep for 28 minutes.
The KNKT explained that about 28 minutes after the copilot fell asleep, the pilot finally woke up and realized that the plane was not on the right track. He woke up his colleague and responded to a call from the Jakarta area control center. He argued that they were having radio communication problems.
The Batik Air plane finally landed safely in Jakarta. There was no damage to the aircraft or injuries to passengers. After investigation, KNKT investigators found no problems with the aircraft's communications system.
"Prior to the flight there were no records or reports of damage to the aircraft system. After the incident the aircraft's radio communication system was found to be in normal condition," said investigators.
According to KNKT, the pilot and copilot 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. KNKT found that the copilot told the pilot that he did not get enough rest the night before.
The copilot or first officer was a new parent, with a pair of one-month-old twins. Even though he was scheduled to fly to Kendari the night before, he tried to sleep early. However, he had to wake up several times to help his wife care for the baby and felt that the quality of his sleep had decreased.
Batik Air's safety procedures did not work optimally.
photo: Facebook/Lion Air Group
KNKT found that the safety procedures regulated by Batik Air airline were not running optimally. KNKT Chairman Soerjanto Tjahjono in the investigation results document assessed that the safety procedures regulated by airlines should be able to provide mitigation. However, according to his findings the procedure was not carried out properly.
Referring to the Batik Air Indonesia Operations Manual Volume A (OM-A) explains that pilots must develop a personal checklist, which includes pilot disorder categories. These include Illness, Medication, Stress, Alcohol, Fatigue, and Emotions (IM SAFE) which can easily be taken as a reminder before undertaking any flight assignments.
"The investigation did not find detailed guidelines or procedures from the IM SAFE personal checklist, such as an assessment guide for each impairment category. The absence of detailed guidelines and procedures may have prevented the pilot from being able to properly assess his physical and mental condition," he said, quoted by brilio.net from Liputan6 .com on Friday (9/3).
The NTSC asked Batik Air to develop detailed guidelines and procedures to ensure the IM SAFE personal checklist can be used to properly assess the physical and mental condition of pilots. The hope is that this can anticipate fatigue or emergency conditions for the pilot and co-pilot.
Another Batik Air Indonesia Safety Emergency Procedure (SEP) discovered by the KNKT is a procedure for carrying out cabin inspections which contains the policy that the cockpit must be checked every 30 minutes.
"However, the investigation did not find detailed procedures for carrying out cockpit inspections as stated in the SEP, such as who is responsible and how to do it. The absence of detailed procedures may mean that the cockpit inspection policy cannot be implemented properly," explained Soerjanto.
Thus, the KNKT recommended Batik Air Indonesia to develop detailed procedures for carrying out cockpit inspections. This is done to ensure that the cockpit inspection can be carried out properly.