A retired Swiss airline pilot flying
around the world for the last two years in a plane he built himself has
been arrested after straying into Indonesian airspace.
Heinz
Peier, 65, was forced to land by Indonesian fighter jets today before
being surrounded by armed soldiers at Soewondo Air Base where he was
arrested.
According to his
blog, Peier was due to travel from Sri Lanka to the Philippines when the
arrest happened, and was not planning to stop in Indonesia.
However, according to an Indonesian
Air Force official, Peier was on a ferry flight from Colombo to
Singapore when he entered their airspace illegally, suggesting that he
may have changed his route.
In
the pictures he is surrounded by soldiers who point their guns at him
while he climbs out of his aircraft before being taken away.
Peier began his travels in February 2012
when he flew to Belize, South America, using a red Swearingen SX300
aircraft he constructed himself.
Since then he has travelled almost
non-stop for two years, taking in six continents - including Antarctica -
visiting around 30 countries, and stopping in more than 100 cities.
On
his travels he has toured safari parks, ridden on elephants, sailed
around glaciers and even took part in a cycle race in his native
Switzerland.
He flies
solo, stopping only to refuel and take in some sights before jetting off
again. He is sometimes joined by his two grown-up daughters, Celcilia
and Bianca.
In his last post, dated two days ago
in Sri Lanka, Peier says he is due to visit the temple of Kanda after
staying the night in the Sri Lankan mountains.
He also discussed refueling his plane beforehand in case he needs to depart 'on a moment's notice.'
It is not clear if Peier is being held by the Indonesian authorities or if he is has been released.
Article taken from DailyMail
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