Air Force appoints board of inquiry to look into air crash that killed one

 Air Force appoints a board of inquiry to look into the air crash that killed one 


A PT-6 training aircraft from the No.1 Flight Training Wing, stationed at China Bay AFB, Trincomalee.
Image - SLAF

By Asiri Fernando

The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) yesterday appointed a five-member board of inquiry to investigate the crash of a training aircraft which resulted in the death of a cadet pilot, Air Force Commander Air Marshal Sudarshana Pathiran said. 

The board made up of aeronautical, technical and medical experts are expected to submit an interim report within a week. The SLAF has temporarily grounded all PT-6 aircraft in the fleet until the interim report is prepared, Air Marshal Pathirana said. 

According to the SLAF, the PT-6 trainer aircraft (SLAF registration - SBT-197) from the No. 1 Flying Training Wing at China Bay crashed near the Janaranjana Tank in Sooriyapura, Kantale. It was flown by Officer Cadet Shalitha Amarakoon who was on a solo mission, departing China Bay Air Force Base at 1.05pm and had lost radio contact with the control tower ten minutes later. 

A Bell-212 helicopter with a search and rescue team had been scrambled to locate the missing aircraft, the Air Force said. 

Residents of Sooriyapura and the Police had aided SLAF search and rescue personnel to free the pilot from the wreckage. Amarakoon was airlifted to District Hospital in Trincomalee where he was pronounced dead, the Air Force said. The cadet pilot had joined the Air Force in January 2019 and had begun flying training in July of the same year.  

The Chinese built PT-6 aircraft was one of a batch six acquired by the SLAF in 2018, Air Marshal Patirana added. 

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