Smart Air Cessna 208 Caravan EX aircraft Shot at Korowai Airport, South Papua, Pilot and Co-pilot lost life.

• The PK-SNR Smart Air aircraft was shot by a group of Unknown Persons (OTK) in Danowage Village, Yaniruma District, Boven Digoel Regency, Wednesday (11/2/2026).
• As per the local police, the Cessna 208 Caravan EX aircraft carried 15 occupants and landed smoothly at Korowai Batu Airport at 11.00 WIT.
• This tragic incident resulted in the death of the pilot and co-pilot, while the passengers were reported to have survived.
• The plane had previously flown from Tanah Merah to Korowai Batu Airport carrying 13 passengers, including an infant.

Indonesian Security agencies said on Wednesday that a pilot and co-pilot of a Cessna 208 Caravan EX aircraft lost life after unknown assailants opened fire on the aircraft when it landed in the country’s easternmost region of Papua.

The Head of Public Relations of the Papua Police, Kombes Cahyo Sukarnito, revealed that the Cessna aircraft with the registration number PK-SNR had previously flown from Tanah Merah Airport at 10.35 WIT with the destination of Koroway Batu.

• As a result of the shooting, the pilot named Egon Irawan and co-pilot Baskoro and 13 passengers got out of the plane and ran into the forest around the airport.
• Boven Digoel Police Chief, AKBP Wisnu Perdana Putra said that the pilot and co-pilot tried to hide from the group of perpetrators. The two ran into the forest to hide. However, they were caught and taken out of the forest. Then he was shot to death.
• "The pilot and co-pilot were chased by the perpetrator, taken out of the forest and back to the airport, then killed there. Both died on the spot," he explained.
• After the incident, the Smart Air aircraft was reportedly still on the runway of Korowai Batu Airport. "We have not been able to confirm the group of perpetrators responsible for this attack and are still waiting for further investigations on the ground," he explained.

The Smart Air plane, which was carrying 13 passengers as well as the pilots, landed at Korowai airport in Boven Digoel, South Papua province, on Wednesday at 11.17 a.m. local time (0217 GMT).

When the shooting began, the pilots and passengers left the plane and headed to a forested area near the airport, he said.The pilot and co-pilot were killed, but all passengers were safe.

The last message from the pilot that had been received before the incident reads:

"There is no signal, please just track. In Korowai we were shot."

Cahyo said it was unclear who carried out the attack on the Cessna Caravan plane, after he was asked about the possible involvement of Papuan rebel groups.

The Director General of Civil Aviation of the Ministry of Transportation, Lukman F. Laisa, has received information and is preparing a holding statement related to this incident.

Gun shot incident is not for the first time, in March 2023, a Boeing 737-59D passenger aircraft (PK-YSC) of Trigana Air was fired upon, which was taking off from the Nop Goliat Dekai Airport (DEX), Indonesia. The bullet, which pierced the fuselage of the aircraft, stuck in the passenger seat.There were no injuries in the incident.

In a second such incident at Nop Goliat Dekai Airport, a 2014 Wings Air ATR 72-600 (PK-WJT) was shot by a group KKB when it landed at Nop Goliat Airport, Dekai district, Papua Mountains of Indonesia, on Saturday (17 February 2024).

Civil Aviation has been an easy target in this region as a low-level but increasingly deadly battle has simmered between security forces and rebels in resource-rich Papua ever since it was controversially brought under Indonesian control in a vote overseen by the United Nations in 1969.