Pilot Killed in Papua Not Only Shot, But Also Beaten With Blunt Objects, Resulting in Fractures

The Cartenz Damai Operation-2026 task force has disclosed the results of an examination on the body of Captain Nicholas F. Goselin (29), the pilot of a PT Associated Mission Aviation (AMA) aircraft who was killed in an incident involving shooting and the burning of a Pilatus PK-RCY at Balinggama Airstrip, Sobaham District, Yahukimo Regency, Papua. The Head of the Papua Regional Police’s Bhayangkara Hospital, Rommy Sebastian, explained that the victim not only sustained gunshot wounds but also injuries from blunt force trauma. “There were open wounds on the head, forehead, left cheek, and around the right ear, a graze on the right side of the head, and fractures to the upper left and right jaw, as well as a fracture to the lower right jaw caused by blunt force trauma,” Rommy stated on Saturday. He further explained that an autopsy was not performed on the body, only an external examination supported by X-rays. Head of Public Relations for the Cartenz Damai Operation-2026, Police Commissioner Yusuf Sutejo, stated that an autopsy was deemed unnecessary as the cause of death could be determined from the external examination. “An autopsy was not considered a necessary action because the cause of death could already be identified through the external examination supported by radiology,” Yusuf said. He expressed his condolences for the death of the PT AMA pilot, who had been serving humanitarian and religious flight missions in the interior of Papua. “On behalf of the Cartenz Damai Operation-2026 Task Force, we extend our deepest condolences to the victim’s family, PT AMA, and all parties affected by this incident,” he stated.