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.