Pilot, co-pilot falls asleep mid-flight with 153 people on board

In a shocking incident, two Indonesian pilots of Batik Air fell asleep for around half an hour mid-flight, with passengers onboard, according to a report in the Guardian. The pilot and co-pilot slept at the same time for roughly 28 minutes, according to the preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT). On January 25, the Batik Air flight was en route from South East Sulawesi to Jakarta, Indonesia's capital city, NDTV reported.

Although the event resulted in many navigational errors, none of the 153 passengers or four flight attendants on the Airbus A320 were injured during the two-hour and thirty-five-minute journey.

The Transport Ministry's Civil Aviation Director-General, M Kristi Endah Murni, remarked that the ministry "strongly reprimands" Batik Air for the event and advised airlines to be more cautious of their aircrew's rest time. The ministry is also launching a probe.

According to the investigation, the second-in-command pilot informed his co-pilot earlier in the day that he had not received "proper rest." The captain asked permission from his second-in-command to take a short break approximately 90 minutes after takeoff, and the request was granted. According to the investigation, once the co-pilot took control of the aircraft, he unintentionally fell asleep as well. "The second-in-command had one-month-old twin babies. His wife took care of the babies and he assisted while at home," the report said.