Sri Lanka Air Force lost one of its brave Fighter pilots, when 2 Kfir  jets belonging to No 10 Jet Squadron of Sri Lanka Air Force Base Katunayake, crashed this morning on 1 March, 2011 off  Yakkala en route to take part in the fly past rehearsal for the SLAF 60th anniversary.

Flight Lieutenant Monath Perera succumbed to his injuries as a result of the crash which completely destroyed the two aircraft. Flight Lieutenant Monath Perera was enlisted to the Air Force in 2004 and served valiantly in the Humanitarian Operations His untimely death is a great loss to No. 10 Jet Squadron.

The 2 jets took off from SLAF Base Katunayake at around 9.10 am for fly past rehearsals and crashed at 9.30 am, 6 km off Yakkala near Kirindiwela Road. Preliminary reports indicate a possible collision as a cause for the crash of the two fighter jets which were flying in tight formation at the time of the accident.

Squadron Leader Vajira Jayakody who was manning the other Kfir received minor scratches and has been transferred to Colombo National Hospital for observation.

The Commander of the Air Force has appointed a Board of Investigation headed by Air Vice Marshal Kapila Jayampathi to look into the causes of the accident.