The captain had requested permission to rest for a while and during that time the co-pilot was to take over command of the aircraft, but the co-pilot also fell asleep.
For a full 28 minutes, both pilots slept while the plane continued to fly – in the wrong direction.
The plane was flying in the wrong direction
After 28 minutes, the captain woke up and realized that the plane was flying in the wrong direction. At the same time, the control tower in Jakarta had tried to contact the plane.
The result was a series of navigation errors, but the flight’s 153 passengers and 4 flight attendants escaped unharmed during the 2.5-hour flight.
Now the Indonesian aviation safety authority wants to introduce better routines to monitor pilot fatigue.