Indonesian security forces recovered the body of American pilot Nicholas F. Goselin on Friday, two days after armed separatists shot him dead and set fire to his aircraft shortly after it landed at a remote airstrip in Indonesia's restive Papua region. The recovery operation involved 10 personnel from the Habema Operations Command, who secured the airstrip in a rapid operation before evacuating the remains, according to a deputy commander overseeing the operation.
Goselin, a pilot for the Indonesian aviation company PT AMA, was shot on Thursday moments after landing at the Ipdeheik airstrip in Balinggama village, in the Yahukimo regency of Papua Highlands province. The plane was carrying seven Papuan passengers along with Goselin, and had been delivering food, fuel and mail to a remote village when it came under attack. Indonesia's Directorate General of Civil Aviation said no security concerns had been flagged before landing, but contact with the aircraft was lost almost immediately afterward.
The West Papua National Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement, claimed responsibility for the attack and released a video of fighters raising the Morning Star flag, the movement's symbol of Papuan independence. A spokesman for the group said the plane had violated the organization's ban on civilian flights it believes are used to ferry Indonesian military personnel and supplies into the region, and warned that any aircraft assisting Indonesian forces would face the same fate. The spokesman also called for international negotiations to resolve the decades old conflict and urged the United Nations to help broker talks between Jakarta, the separatist group and Papuan representatives.
