Batik Air Flight 6723

On 25 January 2024, a Batik Air Airbus A320-200, flying from Haluoleo Airport, Indonesia to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Indonesia was involved in an incident where the airplane was not controlled by any crew members for almost 30 minutes because both pilots were sleeping. The incident resulted in the suspension of both pilots’ licenses.

Batik Air Flight 6723

PK-LUV, the aircraft involved in the accident
Incident
Date	25 January 2024 (2024-01-25)
Summary	Both pilots sleeping/unresponsive for duration of 30 minutes
Site	Over the Java Sea
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Airbus A320
Operator	Batik Air
IATA flight No.	ID6723
ICAO flight No.	BTK6723
Registration	PK-LUV
Flight origin	Haluoleo Airport, Kendari, Indonesia
Destination	Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Jakarta, Indonesia
Occupants	153
Passengers	151
Crew	2
Fatalities	0
Injuries	0
Survivors	153

Aircraft

The incident aircraft was a 7 year old Airbus A320-200, with registration PK-LUV, and MSN 7673. It has been owned and operated by Batik Air, an 11-year old Indonesian airline since it was first sold.

Crew

The captain was a 32-year-old Indonesian who had an Airline Transport Pilot License (ATPL) and who was a qualified Airbus A320 pilot, with a total flying time of 6,304 hours 11 minutes.

The first officer was a 28-year-old Indonesian who had a Commercial Pilot License (CPL) and who was a qualified Airbus A320 pilot. The first officer had a total flight time of 1,664 hours 45 minutes. He had been off duty for the two days before the flight. He spent that time moving to a new house, as he and his wife had one-month-old twins. He went to sleep at 19:00 local time on 24 January, but his sleep was interrupted multiple times to care for his twins. At 00:00 25 January, the SIC awoke to begin his duty day.

Incident

During the flight preparation before the flight from the first flight from Jakarta, the first officer told the captain that he didn't have much rest. The aircraft took off from Jakarta and landed at Kendari without any problems other than getting delayed by about 30 minutes because of the weather. During this flight, the first officer got to have some rest during cruising.

Once everyone was off of the first flight and people finished boarding the second flight back to Jakarta Airport from Kendari Airport, the flight pushed back, taxied, and took off. The aircraft then ascended to their cruising altitude and now, the captain asked to get rest from the first officer and the permission was granted. Then, after about an hour, the first officer inadvertently fell asleep, and there was no one at the controls. 12 minutes later, Jakarta ACC asked Flight 6723 how long the aircraft needed to fly on the current heading, there was no response. Several attempts were made to try to contact Flight 6723 but there was no reply. The aircraft kept flying straight for 28 minutes and 210 nautical miles, well off of their flight plan, until the captain woke up and realized that they were not on the correct route. Then the captain saw the first officer sleeping and woke him up. The flight turned around and then successfully landed at Jakarta International Airport uneventfully.

Aftermath

In the aftermath of the incident, there was no damage to the plane or any injuries but both of the pilots involved in this incident were suspended from flying.

Investigation

The National Transport Safety Committee (NTSC) are investigating this incident and have released the Preliminary Report, it states all the facts gathered by the NTSC and gives recommendations. In response to the investigation results and recommendations from NTSC, Batik Air expressed its commitment to implementing all safety recommendations.