The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has suspended two Go! airline (Web site: www.iflygo.com) pilots who fell asleep in the cockpit earlier this year.
Capitan Scott Oltman and First Officer Dillon Shepley were dismissed by the airline in April and were suspended from flying by the FAA this month.
The pair slept through the landing procedure of a flight from Honolulu to Hilo on February 13, and overshot their intended destination by 15 miles.
Oltman, aged 54, has had his pilot’s license suspended for 60 days and 24-year-old Shepley faces a 45-day suspension.
Ian Gregor, FAA Spokesperson, explained to the Associated Press that no action will be taken against the airline as it had provided the pilots with a 15-hour break before the flight.
Air traffic control officers spent 20 minutes trying to contact the cockpit and eventually received an answer 44 minutes into the 45-minute journey.
The FAA has not established how both pilots managed to fall asleep on the flight and an inspection of the aircraft did not reveal any technical or air pressure problems.
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