A disaster was narrowly avoided after two pilots fell asleep for almost 30 minutes mid-flight while passengers were onboard.
A Batik Airplane in Indonesia reportedly drifted off its planned flight path after the pilot and co-pilot slept in the cockpit for 28 minutes.
The pair fell asleep despite being responsible for the lives of 153 passengers.
Although the plane eventually landed safely, officials have launched an investigation into the incident, reportedly on January 25, as the aircraft was on its way from South East Sulawesi to the capital Jakarta.
Diverting off the carefully planned flight route risks a plane hitting another, with fatal consequences.
MailOnline reported that one of the pilots had not rested adequately the night before the flight.
About half an hour into the flight, the captain asked permission from his second-in-command to rest and was told yes.
It is common for pilots and co-pilots to take turns resting during flights, and some planes have beds in the cockpit.
However, the co-pilot also fell asleep himself.
When Jakarta’s area control centre tried contacting the aircraft, they received no answer.
The pilot woke up 28 minutes after the last recorded transmission to flight control.
He realised the co-pilot was also asleep, and the Airbus A320 plane was not on its mapped flight path.
He woke his colleague up, responded to calls from Jakarta, and corrected the flight path, according to a report into the incident.
Batik Air was ‘strongly’ reprimanded by the Indonesian transport ministry, with director-general M. Kristi Endah Murni calling on airlines to pay more attention to their air crew’s rest time after the near-fatal mishap.
She said,’ We will investigate and review the night flight operation in Indonesia related to Fatigue Risk Management for Batik Air and all flight operators.
The airline said on Saturday that it ‘operates with adequate rest policy’ and is ‘committed to implementing all safety recommendations’.
Batik Air said that both pilots have been temporarily suspended.
The investigators said the pilots were Indonesians aged 32 and 28 without revealing their identities.
