A sleep-deprived pilot fell asleep at the controls for 40 minutes - missing the intended destination by 80 miles.
The fiasco took place on July 2, 2020, in Queensland, Australia, and saw the pilot, who has not been named, doze off for more than half an hour during the flight that was supposed to take him from Cairns to Redcliffe Airport, per Independent.
The pilot had been flying in a Cessna 208B aircraft as part of a repositioning flight - not a commercial flight - and so, there were no passengers on board.
A report from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said they were concerned when air traffic control (ATC) failed to contact the pilot about his imminent landing at Redcliffe airport. They were unable to get a hold of him for the next 40 minutes.
The ATC then tried to contact him using nearby aircraft, which included a pilot on a Royal Flying Doctor Service - to no avail. The second pilot had tried to set off the Cessna aircraft's traffic alert and collision system, but the first pilot remained unresponsive.
When the plane had already traveled 69 miles southeast of Redcliffe airport, around the Pacific Ocean, the pilot woke from his slumber and finally got in touch with ATC. The plane then made a safe landing at Gold Coast Airport, over 80 miles away from Redcliffe Airport.
As per the ATSB report, the pilot had encountered some bad weather conditions on departure, ascending from 10,000ft to 11,000ft.
ATSB acting transport safety director, Kerri Hughes, said in a statement, per the Independent: "The ATSB found that the pilot was likely experiencing a level of fatigue due to inadequate sleep the night before and leading up to the incident."
Hughes continued: "Further, operating at 11,000 feet with intermittent use of supplemental oxygen likely resulted in the pilot experiencing mild hypoxia. This likely exacerbated the pilot’s existing fatigue and contributed to the pilot falling asleep.
"This incident emphasizes the importance of pilots monitoring their own health and wellbeing, to ensure that they are well-rested and adequately nourished, especially when conducting single-pilot operations."
