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Captain Scott Oltman, 54, and First Officer Dillon Shepley, 24, dozed off during the brief midmorning flight from Honolulu to Hilo, on Hawaii.
The Federal Aviation Administration suspended the men for the careless and reckless operation of an aircraft. Both were fired by Hawaii's Go airlines, operator of the February 13 flight which was carrying 40 passengers.
Mr Oltman was also cited for failing to maintain radio communications and banned from flying for 60 days. Mr Shepley had his flying licence suspended for 45 days. Both completed their suspensions earlier this month but an FAA spokesman said he did not know if they were flying again with a different airline.
The men had been given a 15 hour break before their shift, nearly double the FAA minimum. Mr Oltman was later diagnosed with a severe obstructive sleep apnea, a sleep disorder which can lead to extreme fatigue.
An investigation found no obvious explanation for why both men fell asleep. There were no problems with the aircraft's pressurisation system or carbon monoxide levels.
Over a period of 17 minutes, air traffic controllers made nearly a dozen unanswered calls to the men.
In recordings obtained by The Associated Press, the controller is heard repeatedly trying to contact the pilots and speaking to the pilot of another Go flight.
"I'm worried he might be in an emergency situation," the controller says.
Radio contact was finally established 44 minutes into what is usually a 45-minute flight. By this time, the plane had overshot Hilo airport by 15 miles. The flight crew was ordered to return and landed safely.
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