SLAF Mig 27 crashes
[TamilNet, Saturday, 18 August 2001, 06:30 GMT]
A Sri Lanka Air Force Mig 27 aircraft crashed near the Katunayaka international airport Saturday around 11.18 a.m. The Russian built Mig 27 fell over the town of Seeduwa, two kilometres north of the airport. The aircraft was completely destroyed and the Russian pilot was killed in the crash.
A SLAF spokesman said that the Mig 27 crashed on a house at the 20th Milepost on the Colombo-Negombo road around 11.18 a.m. Saturday, injuring six persons in the house and its neighbourhood. He said that two Mig 27 were engaged in a routine training mission when one of them crashed. The SLAF purchased Mig 27 jets to bolster its fleet of Israeli Kfir jets. The jets have been engaged in extensive bombing of areas in the north and east of the island held by the Tigers. The air raids were stepped up after the attack on the Katunayaka SLAF base and international airport on 24 July.
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