Pelita Air Aircraft Crashes in Nunukan, Pilot Killed

An Air Tractor AT-802 aircraft operated by Pelita Air Service crashed in the mountainous Pabetung Remayo area, East Krayan District, Nunukan Regency, East Kalimantan on Thursday, 19 February 2026. The aircraft, which was carrying fuel oil, had been scheduled to fly to Tarakan.

Director General of Civil Aviation Lukman F. Laisa confirmed that the aircraft was occupied by a single pilot. “The latest information we received at 15:16 WITA is that the pilot, Captain Hendrick Lodewyck Adam, has been confirmed dead,” he said in a written statement on Thursday, 19 February 2026.

He stated that the aircraft had undergone routine inspections as part of airworthiness checks. The aircraft’s total logged flight hours stood at 3,303 hours, with the most recent entry recorded on 11 February 2026.

“The investigation process will be carried out in accordance with prevailing regulations by the competent authorities,” he said.

The body of the Pelita Air pilot has been evacuated by Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) soldiers. The evacuation was conducted by the Indonesia-Malaysia Border Security Task Force together with personnel from the Nunukan Military District Command.

TNI soldiers found the Pelita Air aircraft in a severely damaged and burnt condition. Combined personnel are now working to locate the aircraft’s black box and other materials for the ongoing investigation.