Batik Air Pilot Scandal Falls Asleep, Ministry of Transportation Gives Strong Reprimand

The Ministry of Transportation issued a strong warning to Batik Air and will carry out a special investigation regarding the case.

The following article was translated using both Microsoft Azure Open AI and Google Translation AI. The original article can be found in Skandal Pilot Batik Air Tertidur, Kementerian Perhubungan Beri Teguran Keras

KOMPAS

Illustration. The National Transportation Safety Committee revealed on Friday (8/3/2024) the incident of the Batik Air BTK6723 pilot and copilot falling asleep for 28 minutes while flying the Airbus A320 route from Kendari to Jakarta on January 25, 2024.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The Directorate General of Civil Aviation at the Ministry of Transportation has issued a strong warning to Batik Air regarding the scandal of the pilot and the co-pilot who fell asleep while in the air. The ministry will also conduct a special investigation.

This step is a response to the incident involving the pilot and copilot of Batik Air A320 flight number BTK6723 who fell asleep for 28 minutes during a Kendari-Jakarta flight on January 25, 2024. The scandal that did not lead to an accident was revealed from safety recommendations issued by the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT), which were circulated on March 8, 2024.

Also read: Batik Air pilots fell asleep for 28 minutes while in the air

Director General of Air Transportation at the Ministry of Transportation, M Kristi Endah Murni, stated that airlines need to pay attention to the timing and quality of pilot and other crew rest periods. This is because it affects vigilance during flights.

"We will carry out an investigation and review on night flight operations in Indonesia related to risk management of fatigue for Batik Air and all flight operators," said Kristi in a press release, Saturday (9/3/2024).

DOKUMEN INVESTIGASI KNKT

Radar image of Batik Air BTK6723 veering off course after two pilots and co-pilots fell asleep for 28 minutes during a flight from Haluoleo Airport in Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi to Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Tangerang, Banten on January 25, 2024.

Regarding the BTK6723 crew, Kristi continued, they have been grounded, aka not on air for a while according to internal standard operating procedures (SOP) for further investigation.

The Directorate General of Air Transportation will also send flight inspectors who deal with Resolution of Safety Issue (RSI) to identify the root of the problem and recommend mitigation actions related to this case to flight operators and supervisors.

We emphasize that sanctions will be imposed in accordance with the investigation results found by the investigative team.

"The Directorate General of Civil Aviation appreciates the National Transportation Safety Committee and takes seriously the Batik Air case. We emphasize that sanctions will be imposed in accordance with the investigation results found by the investigation team," said Kristi.

Meanwhile, Lion Air management has not responded when asked for information by Kompas. Lion Air is the parent company of Batik Air airline. So far, official information regarding all matters relating to airlines under Lion Air has been issued by Lion Air.

KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI

Illustration of a Batik Air plane.

Pilot fitness

Aviation analyst Alvin Lie stated that, learning from this incident, pilots and airlines need to pay attention to the quality of rest and their mental fitness aspect. The report from KNKT stated that the flight's pilot and copilot had already received enough rest in accordance with the standards.

"However, the quality of the rest was not good so it did not produce physical and mental fitness as it should," said Alvin when contacted on Saturday (9/3/2024)."

Ideally, Alvin continued, the pilot and co-pilot should not sleep while flying the plane. This is because this job requires ability, skill, and coordination that requires full awareness and prime condition to ensure the safety of passengers.

Also read: Sleeping Satisfied on the Weekend is Not Enough to "Pay" for Lack of Sleep

Before taking off, pilots are usually given a minimum rest time of 10 hours, and in practice, it can even be more than 10 hours, before they are tasked to fly the plane again. However, the quality of their rest is difficult to monitor, both by airlines and flight operators.

The challenge, according to Alvin, especially occurs for pilots who fly in the early hours of the morning or what is usually called a red eye flight. It is called red eye flight because it resembles sleepy red eyes due to having to work in the middle of the night or early in the morning.

Naturally, this goes against the body's natural cycle. During the night, biological functions will signal the body to rest. The symptoms experienced are drowsiness.

KOMPAS/YOSEPHA DEBRINA R PUSPARISA

Aviation expert Alvin Lie

Alvin added that this issue must be discussed together between aviation regulators, airlines, and pilots. This is because this phenomenon often occurs among pilots. However, it did not lead to sleeping for such a long time that caused the flight to go in the wrong direction like BTK6723.

The pilot health test now needs to be expanded, not only for physical health but also for mental fitness of the pilot. This is to detect and handle issues so that pilots can work with optimal physical and mental conditions.

Health tests for pilots must now be expanded, not only to physical and bodily health, but also to the mental fitness of the pilot.

The results of the KNKT investigation have stated that the pilot and co-pilot of Batik Air BTK6723 fell asleep for 28 minutes while flying the Airbus A320 route from Kendari to Jakarta on January 25, 2024. This incident was caused by the co-pilot being exhausted from taking care of their child beforehand. The pilot also fell asleep in the cockpit.

This caused the aircraft to deviate and be located in the sky around Cianjur Regency, West Java. The plane strayed hundreds of kilometers southeast of its original destination, Jakarta. Fortunately, the plane landed safely and there were no injuries or fatalities in this incident.