Australia: Aircraft Flies 50 Km Beyond The Destination As Pilot Falls Asleep

An aircraft headed for Australia missed its destination, flying over its location by 50 kilometres because the pilot fell asleep in a cockpit.

Surprisingly, the only person aboard the Piper PA-31 aircraft from Devonport to King Island in Tasmania on November 8 was the pilot, as reported by BBC.

Classified as "incapacitation", the incident is being investigated by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB). The officials have not revealed information as to how the pilot woke up before landing the plane safely. ATSB stated in a statement, “During the cruise, the pilot fell asleep, resulting in the aircraft overflying King Island by 46 kilometres".

The ATSM said that it would interview the pilot to know the incident as well as review its existing operating procedure to avoid the repeating of such events and release a report next year.

In an incident last year, five people died when the plane crashed on its way to Kong Island, just minutes after takeoff.