Four Air Force victims made a dedicated contribution - 28-11-09

The four Air Force officers killed in the MI-24 helicopter gunship accident which occurred due to a technical fault had rendered yeoman service in achieving the military victories routing terrorism.

The MI-24 helicopter gunship of the Sri Lanka Air Force made a vital contribution to the operations supporting the other forces in the battle against terrorism. These were used particularly in tracking LTTE enemy targets. In addition these were used to transport soldiers injured in the battle zone.
The captain of the air craft at the time of the accident was Esala Dodammaluwa. He was a past pupil of D.S Senanayake College Colombo. He was also a very talented air pilot. The other officer killed, was Rehan Fernando. He was a skilled pilot, who made a dedicated contribution in the process of eliminating terrorism.

The two gunners killed in the accident were Corporal Chandrawanse Rathnayake and Corporal Jayantha Sirisena.

Their demise is an irreparable loss to the country.

Air Force Commander, Air Chief Marshal Roshan Gunetileke has already appointed a Committee to probe the incident.

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[RAH5pereira]

@vnck25 yeah i heard abt those explosive thing fixed to the rotor blades....but the mi24 has'nt got em....on the ocassions with enough altitude, the pilot usually lands as soon as possible. should the landing be not possible, he is a dead man. :(

[vnck25]

@RAH5pereira

Eject outside of course.

The main rotors can be blown off as part of the ejection process, just like the cockpit canopy is blown off.I am not sure if the Mi-24's used by the Sri Lankans have such options.

[RAH5pereira]

@vnck25 eject to where ? to the rotor above...of course it could've been a quick death rather than crashing onto land.........

[vnck25]

Sad about the loss.Why didnt they use the eject seats? At least the pilot and the co-pilot have eject seats in the cockpit, the two gunners could have just open the hatch doors and jump, but by looking at the clip they dont seem to wear any sort of parachute on their backs just a floating device .

[kushmin]

Esala Dodammaluwa was my cousin. He left behind two sons who will never get to spend time with their father. We all miss you so much ayya. See you in the next life. RIP

[chill9280]

even ex commaders are becoming traitors to the country for petty reasons.

[siripala123]

Do we know the real reason. May be some traitors have damaged the plan to kill these brave heroes.