Student Pilot Dies in West Java

Bandung  --   A student pilot died on Thursday after his glider came down into a field in West Java amid strong winds and rain.

Edmund Edward Fele, 28, a student at the Indonesian Aerosport Federation (FASI), was flying at a height of around 500 meters when he lost control and fell into a cassava farm in the subdistrict of Kalijati.

Col. Eding Sungkana, the commander of Subang’s Suryadharma airbase, from which the plane took off, said there had been no technical problems with the plane.

“It was in good condition and had often been used,” Eding said. “If the weather were fine, there would have been no problem.”

Strong winds and rain clouds were reported in Kalijati when the incident took place.