:D Excellent support from his employer! If the guy had an unidentified medical condition then he most likely was not aware he was making any of these transgressions. I hope he gets medical help and a good lawyer and sues his former employer for all they're worth.

Interestingly enough, today it was reported that 2 Susi Air pilots tested positive for heroin in a random screening.

It smells AWFULLY like a cooked up story.
1) The media were there armed and ready at the time of the "Random" screening.
2) BOTH crew members tested positive. Not one. But both.
3) The crew were not from the same base, but had only been paired 10 minutes earlier due to a crew swap.
4) Happens to happen on the day that this high profile indonesian case is going to court.
5) The crew were due to fly guests to Susi's birthday party.

Both the pilots are being detained while their apartments and belongings are being poured through with a fine tooth comb, and its being decided if they are users, or part of the drugs trade scene.
A hell of a scary time for the two members that are involved. I truly hope that they do not go down because of someone wanting to redirect the spotlight on the "bad" bule (foreign) pilots

Lots of weird stuff happening in Indonesia at the moment. At least, weird by western standards.
A lot of it seems to be linked to politicking - but that's not really unusual.
And Ibu Susi certainly has her fair share of detractors.

That itself isn't so unusual. BNN "random screenings" are often big, visible events.

Ibu Susi
 

Yes indeed, because of her heritage, her success and of course her unorthodox self, she has large groups of both supporters and detractors. She has also created a lot of enemies (even among her political colleagues) over the years, as you cannot achieve the success she has in business in Indonesia without both the carrot and the stick (paying enablers and tramping on competitors).

But there is another current tide in Indonesia that may be playing a role (is likely playing a role, I think). The repercussions of the current turmoil surrounding the governor of Jakarta are showing up lately in ways they have not in many years. Last week in Jakarta, my wife was asked to cover up in a hair and nail salon. She has been a client there for many years and this was a first (my wife is Indonesian and Jakartan). In a quiet conversation with the owner it became clear that there is a distinct increase of pressure from some sides regarding "respect for Islam".

Susi Pudjiastuti is in so many ways a symbol of what these people do not want to see (especially in a woman) and through her style and personal habits she displays what would be taken to be insulting (perhaps even blasphemous) to Islam (much public consumption of alcohol, dressing in an unconventional way, displaying lots of skin, obvious tatoos, etc).

A complex country and culture(s)...

The Russians don't happen to be involved in the drug screening, do they?

And now we have off-the-cuff remarks from the BNN chief stating that the Lion Air pilot involved in the 2013 Bali crash tested positive for drugs and was "hallucinating".

This contradicts the official safety board (NTSC) report on the accident which stated that post-accident tests did not detect presence of alcohol or drugs. :rolleyes:

ATCO1962... :D

Peekay4... Though I've lived in Indonesia on several occasions and I've worked in the very heart (bowels might be a better word here) of the aviation industry there, I'm still regularly surprised by the often asinine "off the cuff" remarks of senior Indonesian officials. Another example from a couple of days ago: The Minister of Defence commented that ISIS should be invited to Papua to assist the Islamist militias in putting down protests.

Sadly, when it comes to maturing as a functioning democracy, they seem to take as many steps backward as they do forward.

Susi Air pilots cleared
 

Local media sources are now reporting that both Susi Air pilots have been cleared by BNN.

According to officials, both pilots had consumed over-the-counter medicines / supplements which interfered with initial field test results.

BNN HQ in Jakarta performed follow-up urine & hair tests and the results came back negative.

There are more questions than answers... but importantly the pilots are being released from police custody.

I suspect many expat pilots are re-thinking their continued stay in Indonesia.

Why? Nothing has changed... it's always like that

Everything said in the last 10 or so posts is ball-park correct.
It is typical and it is increasingly worrying. But it's their sandpit. They can and will play whatever games they want to play, because that is politics.

But, at a professional level things do seem to be improving, ever so slowly.
That the Susi Air guys have been exonerated is a plus.
That it was publicised and politicised in the first place is very typical, as inferred by PK4 above.

My concern is still with the original thread and that BNN cleared the pilot involved without any explanation of his current circumstances, exoneration or explanation of why he has not been publicly exonerated, if that is appropriate. It is surely not a big deal to say something like "he has been found to have medical problems and his professional future is subject to successful treatment / support".
Oh, and by the way, how are those conscientious executives getting on, just now? Still unemployed? That would be previous chief executive Albert Burhan and previous operations director Hadinoto Soedigno, after they both resigned on 30 December.
Maybe Citilink are just slow to update their website.

I think it's much worse now (~ last 5-10 years) than before? E.g., the continuing Jakarta International School (JIS) scandal; FPI evolving from low-level thuggery to becoming a national political force feared by even the country's president; the increasing radicalization of Islam and conservativeness in the country (including a national ban on alcohol now being proposed) -- etc.

In the JIS scandal, the teachers were acquitted by the High Court, released, and then re-convicted (just two days later!) by the Supreme Court. They have no concept of "double jeopardy". Even though you've been cleared, there's always that chance that the Indonesian authorities could change their minds at any time and arrest you again with no explanation.

This was discussed a bit earlier... the resignations must be accepted (or rejected) by the Citilink board of directors. An extraordinary meeting of the shareholders must held within 30 days of the resignation date, so by the end of January. Until then Albert Burhan remains CEO.

No doubt there are many execs within Citilink and the larger Garuda group eager to replace Mr. Burhan, and they're all jockeying into position and making their cases behind the scenes. Also Citilink is in reality majority owned by the government so there will be political considerations as well in determining whether or not Mr. Burhan gets to stay.

Yesterday Citilink / Garuda Group formally accepted the resignations of Albert Burhan (CEO) and Hadinoto Soedigno (Director of Operations).

It's been a tough 2017 so far for the group. The outgoing Citilink ops director (Mr. Soedigno) has been implicated in the Rolls-Royce corruption scandal along with former Garuda CEO Emirsyah Satar. And Garuda just had another landing overrun at Yogyakarta.

Yes, I've been keeping an eye on that topic too.
My money was on it not happening. I suspect that there may be a lot more to this incident than we'll ever know about.
And as you said earlier, too good an opportunity for the wolves at the door.
I flew GA UPG - SUB on Sunday.
Not an inebriated pilot in sight.

Just wondering, this might already be a dead post... Has any pilots here in Indo heard more on this Captain? I remember hearing (don't quote me on this), that his daddy was a big dude up in the government, and, at one point, was let go from another airline, for the same reason....

I live and work in Indonesia, but haven't heard anything else since he got removed from the aircraft. Sad to see out of all the people, it was the passengers who stood up.

Last I heard he is suing Indonesia's DGCA to get his license and medical back, based on the negative drug test results. However, the DGCA maintains that his license was pulled due to SOP violations. I believe the case is pending before the National Administrative Court (PTUN).

There were a lot of rumors about his alleged past misdeeds, his family, etc.; none has been substantiated to my knowledge.