PAPUA HIGHLANDS — Indonesian security forces recovered the body of American pilot Nicholas F. Goselin on Friday after he was shot dead by the West Papua Liberation Army on Thursday. Goselin was killed shortly after his aircraft landed at the Ipdeheik airstrip in Balinggama village, Yahukimo regency, Papua Highlands province.

Goselin was a pilot for the Indonesian aviation company PT AMA. The aircraft he was flying carried one pilot and seven passengers. Contact with the airstrip was lost shortly after Goselin reported the plane landing.

The West Papua Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement, claimed responsibility for the attack in a video distributed to the media. Rebels armed with guns and axes raised the Morning Star flag, a symbol of Papuan independence, during the incident. The Indonesian military denied the plane was used to carry troops, stating that the passengers were seven indigenous Papuan civilians, including three women, who were unharmed.

Sebby Sambom, a spokesman for the West Papua Liberation Army, said the aircraft violated the group's ban on civilian flights in areas considered operational zones. Sambom alleged that civilian aircraft have been used to transport Indonesian military personnel and logistics into Papua's remote interior. He added that the American pilot was killed because the aircraft continued operating despite the group's warning.

Sambom called on Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto to open international negotiations aimed at resolving the conflict in Papua. He also urged the United Nations to facilitate talks involving the Indonesian government, the TPNPB, and Papuan representatives. "The shooting of the American pilot is the result of the failure of the Indonesian, U.S. and Dutch governments, as well as the United Nations, to address the root causes of the conflict in Papua, which has persisted for 64 years," Sambom said. He warned that the group would target other civilian aircraft it believes are assisting military operations in the region.

The evacuation of Goselin's body involved 10 personnel from the Habema Operations Command. A military spokesperson in Papua confirmed that Goselin's body had been recovered and evacuated. The Indonesian military also stated it was seeking those responsible for the attack.

In February 2023, Egianus Kogoya, a regional commander in the Free Papua Movement, abducted Philip Mark Mehrtens, a pilot from Christchurch, New Zealand, who worked for Susi Air. Mehrtens was freed in September 2024. In August 2024, New Zealand pilot Glen Malcolm Conning, who worked for PT Intan Angkasa Air Service, was killed by TPNPB gunmen after landing in a remote village in the Mimika district. PT AMA planes carry food, fuel, and mail to remote villages in Papua. In February 2023, TPNPB soldiers attacked and destroyed an aircraft at an airport in Nduga, Highland Papua province.