Sentani, Papua. The body of American pilot Nicholas Goselin, who was killed after armed assailants attacked and set fire to his aircraft in Indonesia's eastern Papua region earlier this week, has been flown to Jakarta and handed over to the US Embassy, his employer said.

Goselin, a pilot with Associated Mission Aviation (AMA), died at the age of 29 after a Cessna Caravan operated by the missionary aviation organization was attacked shortly after landing at the remote Balinggama airstrip in Yahukimo Regency, Highland Papua, on July 2. Indonesian authorities have blamed the attack on armed separatists affiliated with the Free Papua Movement (OPM).

AMA President Director Bob Kayadu said the pilot's body was transported to Jakarta aboard a Garuda Indonesia flight following coordination with the US Embassy.

Goselin had worked with AMA for three years and was one of the company's 16 pilots serving remote communities across Papua.

Following the attack, AMA's fleet has been reduced to seven operational aircraft after one Cessna Caravan was destroyed in the fire, Kayadu said.

“AMA currently operates seven aircraft with 15 pilots, including several foreign nationals,” he said in Sentani, Papua.

Kayadu described the attack as the first of its kind against AMA during the organization's 67 years of humanitarian operations in Papua.

He stressed that AMA provides transportation exclusively for civilians living in isolated communities and does not carry military personnel, police officers, or members of armed groups.

“Our mission is to serve communities in remote areas that can only be reached by small aircraft,” he said.

Separately, Deputy Home Affairs Minister Ribka Haluk condemned the attack and expressed condolences to Goselin's family and AMA personnel.

She warned that attacks on missionary and pioneer aviation services could severely disrupt access to essential services in remote parts of Papua, where small aircraft often provide the only reliable connection to education, healthcare, and economic activities.

“There is no alternative to serving Papua's remote communities,” Ribka said in a statement. “Every action should consider its impact on local residents, particularly children living in isolated areas.”

She urged security authorities to conduct a thorough investigation and bring those responsible to justice.

According to Indonesian authorities, the Caravan aircraft, registered as PK-RCY, was attacked shortly after arriving in Balinggama from Wamena Airport. 

OPM Claims Responsibility for the Attack
OPM spokesman Sebby Sambom has released a statement claiming the group's responsibility for the killing of the American pilot because the aircraft allegedly violated a "flight ban" over areas it considers its military operational zone.

The separatists accuse civilian aviation operators of assisting Indonesian security forces by transporting troops and military supplies into remote areas of Papua, allegations that have long been denied by the government.

Elkius Kobak, commander of the OPM's Yahukimo regional command, said he had ordered the attack as part of what the group calls a wartime emergency in the region.

"The shooting of the American pilot is a consequence of the Indonesian government's failure to resolve the root causes of the Papua conflict, which has continued for 64 years," Kobak said in a statement.

The Indonesian military has responded by launching a special operation on Friday to recover the pilot's body and secure the remote airstrip. Shortly after the attack, a 10-member tactical team supported by two helicopters evacuated Goselin's body from the mountainous area before flying it to Timika. 

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