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Foreign aircraft forced down in Medan
The Indonesian Air Force forced a Swearingen SX300 aircraft to land at Soewondo Air Force Base in Medan, North Sumatra, on Thursday for entering Indonesian airspace without permission
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T
he Indonesian Air Force forced a Swearingen SX300 aircraft to land at Soewondo Air Force Base in Medan, North Sumatra, on Thursday for entering Indonesian airspace without permission.
The red US-registered monoplane was forced down by two F-16 jet fighters. A number of fully armed Air Force personnel and sniffer dogs inspected the aircraft after it landed at Soewondo but no dangerous goods were found.
The aircraft will be impounded by the Air Force until the questioning of pilot Heinz Pieter, 65, is complete.
The National Air Defense Sector Command (Kosekhanudnas) III chief, Air Commodore Sungkono, said during an operation in Sumatra a foreign aircraft was detected in Indonesian airspace without a valid permit.
'The foreign aircraft was intercepted at 80 nautical miles [148.16 kilometers] west of Meulaboh, Aceh. The aircraft was then forced to land at Soewondo at about 12:44 p.m.,' he said at the air force base on Thursday.
Sungkono said the pilot had explained he was flying from Colombo, Sri Lanka, to Singapore and was not aware he had entered Indonesian airspace.
'The pilot said he was not aware of Indonesia's borders that's all,' he said.
Sungkono added that the pilot was a retired commercial pilot from Switzerland and that so far there were no threat indications from the aircraft.
Heinz told Air Force personnel that he was on a journey around the world in his private, home-built airplane. (nvn)
