Rebels kill American pilot in Indonesia’s Papua separatist conflict

Rebels in Indonesia’s Papua Highlands shot dead an American pilot after he landed at a remote mountain airstrip, then burned the aircraft and said the killing was meant as a message to the United States and Indonesian governments. Indonesian forces recovered the body of Nicholas F. Goselin on Friday, a day after the attack in Yahukimo regency.

The plane had landed at the Ipdeheik airstrip in Balinggama village when the attack began on Thursday, July 2, 2026. Goselin worked for the Indonesian aviation company PT AMA and was flying a Pilatus PC-6/B2-H4 Turbo-Porter registered PK-RC, one of the small aircraft that connect isolated communities in the highlands. The aircraft carried one pilot and seven passengers, all of them Indigenous Papuan civilians, including three women, and none was hurt, Indonesian officials said.

Indonesia’s military sent 10 personnel from Habema Operations Command in a rapid operation to secure the airstrip and recover the body. The armed group behind the attack identified itself as the West Papua Liberation Army, or TPNPB, the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement. In a video, the group said it raised the Morning Star flag after the shooting, a symbol of Papuan independence, and its spokesman, Sebby Sambom, said the plane had ignored a ban on civilian flights in areas the rebels consider operational zones.

Sambom also said the rebels believed civilian aircraft had been used to move Indonesian troops and logistics into remote Papua, a claim Indonesia rejected as unverified. He called for international negotiations, including talks facilitated by the United Nations, and warned that the group would target other civilian aircraft it believes is helping military operations. The Indonesian military denied that the plane had been carrying troops.

Papua’s insurgency has lasted 64 years. Over the past year, dozens of rebels, security forces and civilians have been killed, and foreign pilots have been singled out in attacks and threats.