Flying in West Papua is dangerous work. So why do so many Australians and Kiwis do it?
Armed independence groups, treacherous terrain, wild weather, and airstrips that make Nepal's notorious Lukla airport look like "child's play" are just some of the dangers that pilots face flying in West Papua.
"When I first went to Papua, my trainer said to me, 'The day you think you are the King of Papua, is the day you're going to kill yourself'," former Susi Air pilot Rohan Damle said.
"You never underestimated flying in Papua."
This week, New Zealand pilot Glen Malcolm Conning was shot dead by gunmen after landing a PT Intan Angkasa Air Service helicopter in Indonesian West Papua's remote Alama district.
The six passengers he was transporting, including two health workers and two children, escaped unharmed.
The Indonesian police initially reported that his body was burned along with the helicopter but that turned out to not be true....................
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-08-09/why-do-pilots-choose-to-fly-in-west-papua/104200904
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