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The stakes were extremely high in this case of sleep at work.
A small cargo plane exceeded its Australian destination by more than 30 miles because the pilot had fallen asleep in the badpit, the Australian Transportation Safety Board (ATSB) said in a statement.
The unnamed pilot flew the plane on November 8 from Tasmania to King Island, off the southwestern coast of the country.
The day's flight tracking data show the Vortex Air-powered Piper PA-31 aircraft departing from Devonport Airport at 6:21 am and pbading over King Island before making half-stops. tower. He landed on King Island at 7:21.
"During the cruise, the pilot, who was the only person on board, fell asleep, which forced the aircraft to fly over King Island 46 km," ATSB said in a statement.
Authorities are currently investigating the "serious incident" of "the pilot's inability". It is not known when the pilot woke up.
According to the Vortex Air website, it offers charter flights for "groups, companies and vacationers traveling to Australia".
He told CNN affiliate Yahoo7 that he was investigating "this extremely rare event," and said it was the pilot's first flight after returning from vacation.
Colin Tucker, General Manager of Vortex Air, said the company's pilot "fell asleep involuntarily while ordering the plane".
"The problem became apparent when the air traffic control could not contact the pilot in flight and the aircraft exceeded the intended destination while using the autopilot.
"The pilot landed safely at King Island Airport."
The charter company stated that this was the first scheduled flight of the day and that subsequent flights would not be affected.
The Piper PA-31 aircraft can navigate at a maximum speed of 270 mph and can carry up to 10 pbadengers, according to the Aviation.net aeronautical interest website.
ATSB said it would interview the pilot, review operational procedures and make its investigation report public in early 2019.
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority is currently conducting a separate investigation into the fatigue management practices of the charter company, Yahoo7.
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