BOTH PILOTS FALL ASLEEP ON AIRCRAFT CARRYING 159 PEOPLE

Two pilots of an aircraft carrying 157 other people fell asleep midflight, causing the plane to veer off its designated path, according to a preliminary report by Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee.

The pilots were operating a Batik Air flight when they both fell asleep at the same time for about 28 minutes, the report said. The plane, which was carrying 153 passengers and four crew members, had left the island of Sulawesi and was making its way to Jakarta on Jan. 25, a 2-hour, 35-minute flight.

The report did not identify the pilots, only describing the pilot in command as a 32-yearold Indonesian and the second in command as a 28-year-old Indonesian. Both had been deemed fit to fly, having passed health checks and returned negative tests for alcohol, the report said.

When the flight reached a cruising altitude of 36,000 feet, about 30 minutes after departure, the pilot in command asked the deputy for permission to rest, which was granted. The pilot in command fell asleep and woke just under an hour later.

The pilot in command then asked his cockpit mate whether he wanted to sleep, but the second in command declined, according to the report, so the first pilot continued to sleep while the deputy remained in control of the aircraft.

After making contact with Jakarta’s area control center, the second pilot “inadvertently fell asleep,” the report said, noting that when the control center later attempted to contact the pilots, it did not receive a response.

Twenty-eight minutes after the last recorded transmission from the second pilot, the first pilot woke up “and was aware that the aircraft was not on the correct flight path,” the report said. The pilot put the flight back on track.