Sad News

An anonymous source recently alerted me to this story:

The following appeared on AntaraNews.com on 30 Oct 2014:

Trainer aircraft lost contact in Moyo island

Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara (ANTARA News) - Trainer aircraft PK-LLC belonging to PT Lift has reportedly lost contact at Moyo island in Sumbawa district, West Nusa Tenggara, around 10.30am on Thursday.

Head of the local chapter of the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) Budiman confirmed the incident saying the agency has deployed a team to find the aircraft.

"We have deployed a helicopter and a speed boat for the search operation," he added.

He noted that two persons were on board the trainer, Boon, a Singaporean instructor, and R Jati, a trainee from Jakarta.

The plane departed from Lombok International Airport for Sultan Muhammad Kaharuddin III in Sumbawa Besar, but lost contact near Moyo island at around 10.30am.

The Basarnas in Mataram received a report around 2pm and it immediately deployed a search team to locate the aircraft.

Sultan Kaharuddin III airport, police, and fishermen are also involved in the search operation, he stated.

This is sad on so many levels. I don't know exactly what happened, but I am certain it could have been prevented. My heart goes out to the friends and family.

The following appeared on the website for AsiaOne News on 7 Nov 2014:

http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/sporean-missing-near-indonesian-island-we-had-glimmer-hope-it-was-not-our-friend.

S'porean missing near Indonesian island: 'We had a glimmer of hope that it was not our friend'

One of the last text messages Mr Lua Boon Huan sent to his friends reminisced about the good old days when they were still in junior college.

On Monday, Mr Lua's friend, who wanted to be known only as Mr Zach, received another WhatsApp message that rendered him speechless.

Mr Lua, 30, a flight instructor, had gone missing.

The Singaporean was on a flight with a trainee, flying from the island of Lombok to Sumbawa, an Indonesian island east of Lombok, last Thursday.

Mr Lua and the trainee, Mr Jati Wikanto, 26, an Indonesian from Yogyakarta in Central Java, had taken off from Lombok International Airport.

The pair were supposed to land at Sultan Muhammad Kaharuddin III Airport in Sumbawa Besar, a town in Sumbawa. The plane lost contact near Moyo Island at around 10.30am last Thursday. A search-and-rescue operation has found parts of the plane and belongings of the trainee.

Mr Zach, 29, who works in sales, told The New Paper yesterday that he and his friends on the chat group frantically searched the Internet for more information about the incident once they received the news.

Heaving a sigh, he said: "One of the Indonesian news sites mentioned that the Singaporean's name is 'Boon Hua Lua'. "For a while, this typo gave us a glimmer of hope that it was not our friend."

Unfortunately, through other news portals, Mr Zach confirmed that it was indeed his friend who had gone missing. Mr Lua, who is single, is the chief flight instructor at the Lombok Institute of Flight Technology (Lift), a flight training academy based in Lombok.

The flight school, which started in 2010, offers courses including those for licences to be a private pilot, a commercial pilot and a flight instructor.

Mr Tarigan, a quality control officer at Lift, told TNP that the pair were in a Liberty XL2 plane, a twin-seater propeller plane for one passenger and one crew.

According to online aircraft encyclopedia flugzeuginfo.net, it is produced by American manufacturer Liberty Aerospace. A video on Lift's website reveals that a Liberty XL2 plane is capable of a cruise speed of about 230kmh. It stated that because of this, the aircraft is "perfect for long cross-country training flights around the Indonesian islands".

Responding to queries from TNP, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Singapore embassy in Jakarta has been in close touch with the Indonesian authorities on the search operations since the incident last week.

Its spokesman added: "An embassy official is currently at the accident site and assisting the family members of the Singaporean pilot."

CLASSMATES

Mr Zach said that he and Mr Lua were classmates in junior college.

He added: "We became close as both of us were in the football team.

"Even back then, he always mentioned that he wanted to be a pilot but couldn't, as he was wearing glasses." The pair drifted apart when they entered national service.

Mr Zach said that soon after, Mr Lua, whom he fondly calls "Boon", left Singapore for Europe to further his studies in the hospitality industry.

They reconnected more than five years ago when the latter returned and worked in a local hotel.

They also began to play football with their friends about once a week in Serangoon.

Mr Zach said he thinks Mr Lua, who was not bespectacled by then, later realised that working in a hotel was "not his thing".

The latter later left Singapore to obtain his pilot licence, after which he remained overseas.

Even though they did not meet up face to face, the two friends kept in contact regularly via WhatsApp.

Mr Zach said he has been very worried since the news about the disappearance.

"I just hope that the plane is found with Boon and the trainee is safe and sound," he said.

Fired foreign flyboys cry foul at Lombok flight school

Panca Nugraha, The Jakarta Post, Mataram | Archipelago | Wed, January 30 2013, 7:17 AM
Three foreign flight instructors were fired by the PT Lombok Institute of Flight and Technology (PT LIFT) for refusing to use an aircraft not deemed airworthy, their lawyer says.
The instructors — identified as American Matthew Coen, 39; Spaniard Victor Cobo, 28; and German Selvia Staudinger, 31 — reported their employer, who sponsored their visas, to the immigration office in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), according to their lawyer, I Gede Sukarmo.
“We reported the issue to the Mataram immigration office because our clients have been unfairly dismissed,” Sukarmo said at the office on Monday. “Their employer, PT LIFT, failed to report the matter to the immigration office.”
The instructors claimed that they were wrongfully dismissed on Dec. 12.
“The case ensued because my clients refused to fly a training plane that they deemed was not airworthy,” Sukarmo said.
The aircraft in question, a relatively new US-made Liberty XL2 two-seat, low-wing, general aviation aircraft that the flight school used for training, was no longer able to reach 2,000 feet, the lawyer said.
“Our clients feared for their safety. They acknowledged that they often encountered faults during training flights.”
Sukarmo said that his efforts to broker a mediated settlement with PT LIFT — a standard though optional practice under Indonesian law — were rebuffed, leading the instructors to file a report with immigration officials. The men also claimed that they had not yet been paid their monthly salary of US$4,900.
“We reported the matter to the immigration office so my clients could receive protection. As foreign citizens, they currently have no sponsor. They will become victims in the case,” Sukarmo said.
The lawyer said he would also file a police report claiming that PT LIFT, as his clients’ sponsor, had violated manpower and immigration laws.
Separately, Mataram Immigration Office head I Wayan Sudana confirmed he had received a complaint from the instructors.
According to immigration rules, companies that retract their sponsorship of expatriate employees must file a report with immigration — something that PT LIFT had apparently yet to do, he added.
Sudana said that PT LIFT would be summoned to address the allegations.
Sudana said that the flight school may have breached Article 63 of Law No. 6/2011 on immigration.
“A sponsor who fails to report the people who they sponsor to immigration can face a five-year sentence if proven guilty,” Sudana said.
PT LIFT, which operates out of the now-closed Selaparang Airport in Mataram, declined to comment.
“I cannot comment because the matter is being handled by our lawyer in Jakarta,” PT LIFT human resources development manager Syukro told reporters.
PT LIFT is a flight training institute operating at the former Selaparang Airport in Mataram since early 2012. The school was opened in November 2010 and operates three Liberty XL2 aircraft, according to its website.

Letter from a Reader

Name withheld to protect privacy.
Hi Kate, I came across your blog on LIFT and I am highly impressed by your courage and candor to bring awareness about the flight school to the general public.
I am from Singapore, previously with the Singapore Youth Flying Club in 2007, having completed my solo sortie there. I haven't flown in almost 6 years due to me being in the army and then attending university. However, during this period, I have never once lost passion in flying nor the faith that I will one day be able to pursue a career in this field (whether it be actual piloting or not). This brought me to search for a suitable flight school to complete my PPL journey as I was dropped from the course 6 years ago for an unsatisfactory landing, due to me being thick-headed and not doing a go-around even though wind conditions were bad on that solo flight and I only managed to land the PA-28 about halfway down the length of the runway. (SYFC is unofficially doing recruitment for the Singapore Air Force so they are extremely strict on who stays on in the course and who doesn't).
I believe I have since learnt from that incident about not being so stubborn during my sorties. Thus this brings me to the point of searching for a flight school now that can allow me to attain my PPL after so long. As I am only getting a meagre salary now, I do not want to dish out huge bucks for the course. Therefore, I turned towards the flight schools in Malaysia and Indonesia and also Philippines to get a quotation for the course that will be within my reach. (The flying clubs in Singapore are charging about $30k for a PPL course.)
I have emailed dozens of flight schools around the region and have received various quotes; including one from LIFT. Edmond himself replied to my enquiry. I was surprised to learn that he is charging US$31,600 for a PPL course in Indonesia. I'm not sure if he is doing that just because I\'m from Singapore and he feels that everyone here is swimming in pools of money. Then again, you mentioned in your blog that he owns many businesses so I suppose that his business acumen can't be that bad. However, this price is at least 2-3 times more than what any other flight school around the region is charging and I find it pretty ridiculous. Anyway, I was trying to find out more info about the school, which brought me to your blog. And I want to thank you for your kind sharing that really gave awareness to everyone about the environment in LIFT and also aviation in Indonesia as a whole.

Good, Bad, and Ugly

The Good It's easy to get a pilot license in Indonesia. It seems the official examiners observe the flight operations, glance at the paperwork, establish an opinion of the operating procedures, and fly with a few students. The smart flight school present their best pilots first and hope the examiner runs out of time and doesn't fly with all of them. Everyone in the batch either passes or fails.
The same goes for the theory exams. The official examiners watch the students take the test to make sure they are trying hard, look over the school paperwork and attendance records, then decide to pass or fail the entire class without grading the exams. No one gets a grade. Pass or fail.
I think the theory is that the airlines will weed out the poor pilots and do the real training. In Indonesia, if you are Indonesian and you have a CPL license, you will probably get hired, no matter how poorly you have been trained.
The Bad
The bad part of this is that most newly hired pilots don't make it past 100 hours in their new job. Because they did not receive the basics, because they were not allowed to fail, and because they did not receive proper training, they can't keep up with the job.
They end up with losing the money they invested in their flight training (about $60,000 USD), losing the bond they had to give to the airline for jet training (about $50,000 USD), flying for low pay for several months unable to pay back their debt, with not enough hours to get another flying job, and a failed job performance on their resume. Their flying career is essentially over.
The bad part of this is that this occurs to most (about 85%) newly-hired pilots. Of course, none of the flight schools will tell you this. Nor do they care: they already have their money.
What makes LIFT stand out is their circumstances are more deplorable than most. Incompetent management (although many who work there are highly qualified, their advice and experience is resented) and false promises drag this school into the "worse than usual" category. Add more woes: LIFT was set up at an airport that was closed down as soon as the school started, forcing the students and instructors to travel by car an hour and fifteen minutes EACH WAY every day they are scheduled to fly to get to the aircraft. If the flight is cancelled because of weather or other circumstances, the trip is still mandatory. Once in the air, students have to fly 40 minutes to get to the practice area. Each flight consists of about 15-20 minutes of lesson time, and the rest is ferry time. Every day. Landings can't be practiced at the origin airport (because of airline traffic), so students must go to an airport at least 80km away for touch-and-goes. If the weather deteriorates, they are stuck in the middle of nowhere until it clears.
The Truly Ugly
Promises are made that this school is the best in Indonesia, but in fact delivers nothing. The students who attend face an uncertain future. While many will get hired, anyone who can stay hired long-term will be because they have sought additional training and resources on their own. Instructors who come to work here never finish their 1-year contract, most leaving after a few months. LIFT exploits the weaknesses of the Indonesian system to the detriment of students who don't know better.
There are no standards in training here. Anything goes and each student is taught a little differently. There is no airline preparation, no CRM training (prized by airlines), and no acceptably recognized standards. Students are not taught even the basics, such as hand signals, V speeds, and the proper use of checklists. Instead of attempting to improve training, blame is placed on outside factors. Those who dare to inform Edmond are fired or quit.
LIFT will continue to operate as long as the money holds out. Students will "graduate", but their certificates will be useless in the real world. The Indonesian license is not recognized by other countries. To fly for Malaysia (for example), the Indonesian pilot must take additional exams and flight tests at their own expense. This business is tough enough without additional burdens placed on unsuspecting student pilots.
The bottom line is, students will pay a lot of money for flight training at LIFT and never get their investment back.

More stuff

Edmond Fung is short-tempered, mean-spirited, hates women, and is a poor businessman. But I don't care about any of that. He is also a danger to the aviation community and is not willing to create a safe flying environment. He says he wants to create the "best flight school in Indonesia," but his actions don't support that.

I have seen hundreds of flight schools in operation, and all of them have their problems. But if you make safety and optimum leaning conditions your top priority, the other problems can be handled.

If you don't, then eventually someone will make a mistake and lives will be lost. The students at LIFT have gotten by so far because of the help of two specific instructors, Denis and Kwan (who are both leaving soon), and from their own hard work and dedicated study.

Russ Sherwood is only in this for himself. He is not interested in performing the duties required of a Chief Flight Instructor, but only in building time. He doesn't care if the students succeed or fail. His flying habits are atrocious at best. As soon as he finds someone else to hire him, he will be gone. Unfortunately for LIFT, no one wants him.

There are many events that have happened at LIFT during my brief time there that I have not even touched upon. I have mostly documented emails. But there is much more.

LIFT is Edmond's baby, but Russ does not fall far from the tree. Russ has picked up Edmond's habit of yelling and insulting everyone in sight. {Why do they think this is OK?} Edmond defends Russ almost every time, but Russ will talk bad about Edmond when he is not around, then act like nothing happened when Edmond appears. Russ is totally two-faced and will say whatever he thinks will appeal to whoever is in the room at the time. Russ has zero ethics.

They both throw their insults in the presence of other staff, instructors, and students. They make up stuff, such as claiming one instructor's spouse had a "criminal record" (this raises so many questions - if so, why did they hire the guy, why would they do a background check on a spouse, etc).

Edmond has hired some impressive and senior staff members - one who is a retired army general and another who was a pilot for the prime minister. Yet he has told me that these men are "useless" or "worthless". I would guess that they have also approached Edmond about his flight standards and have been rebuked.

Edmond has told me that he yells at people to "build character." It doesn't. It demoralizes people. Why would he hire people who need "character" building? Has he studied up on the best ways to "build character"? Why has he decided it is his mission in life to create more characters rather than create skilled future pilots?

Edmond also has a habit of blaming instructors and students for bad weather. He is in Jakarta and the school is in Lombok, 1300 miles away. Often flights are cancelled because of thunderstorms or high winds. Edmond thinks these are excuses to not fly. The truth is, instructors and students LOVE to fly. That is what they live for. They take every opportunity they can to fly. But they are not suicidal and they should not be expected to put their lives at unnecessary risk. It is not up to Edmond to make those types of calls, and in fact is attributing to the culture of danger there.

Edmond also has taken it upon himself to decide what kind of training the instructors should perform. For example, he has banned stall training until the students are at commercial level. This is bad on so many levels. Landings, approaches, aircraft limitations - this knowledge is all required before solo and requires stall skills.

There is much more. The bottom line is Edmond is not interested in training skilled pilots. I am not sure what he is interested in as he has told me he is not in this to make money. He claims he is dedicated to flight training, but he not been involved in flight training for over 20 years himself and has never done anything to update his knowledge or improve his currency. He is simply taking good money from the student's parents and giving them a minimal education in return.

Cease and Desist Part 2

This is where I tear apart the letter line by line:

The cover email contained a statement that this letter was "Privileged and Confidential". Mr Cerillo, I am not your client and I am not required to keep this letter confidential. Isn't any letter involved in litigation a matter of public record? Of course I have posted this on my blog, but you knew I was going to do that. Isn't such a posting is considered fair use?
Your letter makes such outrageous allegations and unfounded lies that I wonder why you didn't simply tell your client to ignore my blog and let the whole thing quietly lose steam and die. I am amazed how how much affect I have on LIFT, even though I am long gone.

"This law firm represents PT Lombok Institute of Flight Technology (LIFT, Indonesia) and Mr. Edmund Fung. It has been brought to our attention that you are engaged in an ongoing effort to defame and libel our client and current and past employees and affiliates of PT Lombok Institute of Flight Technology through the intentional distribution of false, damaging information as well as confidential information."

The information might be damaging, but it's not false and certainly not confidential. I am within my rights to report workplace misconduct. In the case of life endangerment, I would be negligent if I didn't report it.

"Specifically, and without limitation, we note that defamatory and sensitive confidential information has been posted and distributed worldwide through the establishment and operation of online blogs and websites listed on the attachment, and via other means including email, twitter and other digital media."

No, only on this blog. But that's a really good idea. I am going to look into posting stuff in other places.

"In addition, on the blog, you are distributing without consent copies of confidential emails and other proprietary materials including videos in violation of the privacy, copyright and other property rights of our clients and of others."

No, I'm not. The emails were either directed to me, sent by me, or cc'd to me. In fact, emails sent to me by Mr Fung are NOT confidential (as he himself informed me during my discussion with him about my medical records) and the videos are available on YouTube. Are you going to threaten them also?

"It is patently evident that these actions are taken to cause economic harm and professional embarrassment. You (and any third parties acting in concert with you) will be held personally responsible for the damage caused by these actions, and we have archived evidence of these activities."

My intent is to get LIFT to get their act together, and if they can't, to warn others so they can make an informed decision about attending classes or working there. All the information I have posted so far is from my direct experience or what I hear from the students. Are you seriously going after the students for telling me what is going on? What will that do to the reputation of LIFT? The best way for Edmond to avoid professional embarrassment is to stop being professionally embarrassing. He could engender a culture of safety, to start. Instead, he verbally abuses his staff, the instructors, and the students, demanding they continue flying during bad weather and squelching any advice, common sense, or protest. Now he is trying to silence me. Good luck with that.

The bottom line is, I am in the right. Edmond has a lot more money than I do and can afford a big lawsuit. Is this really what he wants to spend his money on? Not to mention all the stuff that will come out in discovery. My blog is just the tip of the iceberg. Better to fix up his own house than to blame someone else for his problems. And Edmond, whatever happened to that mediation clause in the contract? Is this how you are really going to handle things? I guess a contract with you in not worth the paper it's printed on.

On the brighter side, I am encouraged by all the new activity on my blog. I was losing interest in it and things were dying down, but now I shall have to add more stuff to it.

Cease and Desist

I received the following letter via email marked "Privileged and Confidential":

January 17, 2012

VIA EMAIL AND REGISTERED MAIL

Re: Libel and defamation

Dear Ms. Montressor:

This law firm represents PT Lombok Institute of Flight Technology (LIFT, Indonesia) and Mr. Edmund Fung. It has been brought to our attention that you are engaged in an ongoing effort to defame and libel our client and current and past employees and affiliates of PT Lombok Institute of Flight Technology through the intentional distribution of false, damaging information as well as confidential information.

Specifically, and without limitation, we note that defamatory and sensitive confidential information has been posted and distributed worldwide through the establishment and operation of online blogs and websites listed on the attachment, and via other means including email, twitter and other digital media. Your statements may directly impact the value and operation of my clients’ business. In addition, on the blog, you are distributing without consent copies of confidential emails and other proprietary materials including videos in violation of the privacy, copyright and other property rights of our clients and of others.

It is patently evident that these actions are taken to cause economic harm and professional embarrassment. You (and any third parties acting in concert with you) will be held personally responsible for the damage caused by these actions, and we have archived evidence of these activities.

My client has authorized initiation of legal action against you and any person acting in concert with you on the above activities. We demand that all referenced materials be removed from public access, deleted or destroyed. If you have not done so by Wednesday, January 18, 2012, we have been
instructed to initiate legal process against you. We reserve all rights, including the right to pursue you for damages arising as a result of your actions, without regard to your removal of this information. If you wish to have a legal release, please contact the undersigned. We suggest that you consult with legal counsel as the actions you have taken are egregious and damaging, and you should know your legal exposure and obligations.

Please countersign and return a copy of this letter to confirm that you have complied with the foregoing, and if you have any questions, please call the undersigned, or contact me via email.

Sincerely,

Gregory P. Cirillo

The undersigned confirms, represents and warrants that: (i) she has deleted and permanently removed any and all defamatory or confidential information relating to PT Lombok Institute of Flight Technology (LIFT, Indonesia), its officers and employees, including Mr. Edmund Fung from any and all locations and all media, and (ii) she will refrain from engaging in such behavior in the future. Any
breach of this representation and warranty shall be enforceable against the undersigned where she or her assets may be located, and damages will include the costs of pursuing said claim(s).
_______________________________

[A number of websites are listed]

---

This is my response:

January 15, 2012

Gregory P. Cirillo
Wiley Rein, LLP
1776 K St NW
Washington, DC 20006

RE: Response to your “cease and desist” letter dated Jan 13, 2012

Dear Mr. Cirillo,

Thanks for visiting my blog. I received your letter and can understand why someone like Mr Edmond Fung would want to find a way to avoid criticism rather than address the issues he has created. I am not going to take down my blog. As a concerned, dedicated flight instructor, I consider it my duty to inform the world of my experience at LIFT. If someone is injured or, God forbid, killed because I kept silent, I would not be able to live with myself.

The assertions you outline in your letter are completely false and inaccurate.

The best way for Edmond to cut down on conflict is to engender a culture of safety. Instead, he verbally abuses his staff, the instructors, and the students. The other thing he can do is get rid of a dangerously incompetent flight instructor - Russell Sherwood.

Before I got your letter, my blog went unnoticed. In the past few days, the number of hits I have received have gone from 5 to over 300 and I am starting to attract followers. Thanks for the publicity.

Sincerely,