Pilot of missionary chopper found dead in Wamena

Pilot of missionary chopper found dead in Wamena

Nethy Dharma Somba, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura

The pilot of a Bell 206 helicopter, U.S. national Neil Roesler,
30, was found dead after his helicopter plummeted to the ground
near Komamil village, a remote village in Wamena town, on Monday.

His body was discovered at 11:25 a.m. local time on Tuesday
and evacuated to Wamena by a six-member search and rescue team
from the Freeport mining company in Timika, using a chartered Air
Fast Long Ranger plane.

Helimission, a missionary flight operator in Wamena, which
owned the helicopter, is waiting for the military in Jayapura to
supply embalming fluid to preserve the body. His remains will be
flown to the U.S.

The rescue team head, Boas Padang, said the cause of the
accident was not clear. The chopper, which was on a mission
flight, crashed on a mountain in Koek valley. Roesler was already
dead when the wreckage helicopter was found.

Jayapura air force base commander Col. Anang Murdianto told
reporters in Jayapura on Tuesday that the helicopter Roesler was
flying had been reported missing at 4:55 p.m. Monday while after
it failed to land at Wamena. It took off from Obokoin village at
3:37 p.m. and had been scheduled to arrive in Wamena at 4:30 p.m.
local time.

The moment it was confirmed missing, four other missionary
helicopters from the Associated Mission Aviation (AMA) and
Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) began searching for it.

The Timika rescue team arrived at 11:05 a.m. local time
Tuesday and located the wreckage at 11:25 a.m. near Komamil
village.

Helimission is a missionary flight operator in Papua that
flies into the hinterlands. It has two other helicopters, one of
which is being repaired in Singapore and the other is being
repaired at Wamena airport.

The mountainous landscape of Papua, Indonesia's easternmost
province, prevents people from using land transportation and
forces them to rely on air transportation to reach remote parts
of the province.