Sri Lanka Air Force The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) ( si, ශ්‍රි ලංකා ගුවන් හමුදාව, Śrī Laṃkā guwan hamudāva; ta, இலங்கை விமானப்படை, Ilaṅkai vimāṉappaṭai) is the air arm and the yo ...

Avro 748 CR835 was shot down on 28 April 1995 by a

SA-7 The 9K32 Strela-2 (russian: Cтрела, "arrow"; NATO reporting name SA-7 Grail) is a light-weight, shoulder-fired, surface-to-air missile (or MANPADS) system. It is designed to target aircraft at low altitudes with passive infrared homing gui ...

missile fired by the

LTTE The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...

. The plane, an Avro 748-334 Srs. 2A airliner, was en route to Ratmalana Airport and was shot down soon after take-off from SLAF Palaly. All 51 crew and passengers were killed. Following the break down of peace talks and resumption of hostilities in April 1995, the Sri Lanka Air Force maintained its routine flights in and out of

Jaffna Jaffna (, ) is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th most ...

from SLAF Palaly. As per schedule a SLAF Avro 748, serial no CR835 and regn 4R-HVB, took off from SLAF Palaly on 28 April 1995, crashed into the sea, killing all 51 crew and passengers, which included Wing Commander Roger Weerasinghe, Northern Zonal Commander of the SLAF and four Sri Lanka Army personnel, who had been wounded in a

attack on Kayts Island the previous day. Soon after take-off in heavy rain, the No.2 engine caught fire, prompting a return to Palaly, but on final approach the right wing failed and the aircraft crashed into the sea. Initial response of the Sri Lankan military and government was that the crash was due to engine trouble, however, the next day another Avro 748 which was sent with an investigation team was also shot down, prompting SLAF headquarters to state that both Avro 748s were shot down.US powered Israeli jets enhance SLAF capability
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sri Lanka Air Force Avro 748(CR835) shootdown Terrorist incidents in Sri Lanka in 1995 Aviation accidents and incidents in 1995 Aviation accidents and incidents in Sri Lanka 1995 in Sri Lanka Mass murder in 1995 20th-century aircraft shootdown incidents April 1995 events in Asia Accidents and incidents involving the Hawker Siddeley HS 748

See also

References