Squadron Leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr or S/L) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Squadron leader is immediatel ...

Monath Erash Perera was a

fighter pilot A fighter pilot or combat pilot is a Military aviation, military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, Air-to-ground weaponry, air-to-ground combat and sometimes Electronic-warfare aircraft, electronic warfare while in the cockpit of ...

who served in the No. 10 Squadron of the

Sri Lanka Air Force The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF; ; ) is the air force, air arm and the youngest of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces. It was founded in 1951 as the Royal Ceylon Air Force (RCyAF) with the assistance of the Royal Air Force (RAF). The SLAF played a major r ...

Biography

Born on 13 October 1982 in

Galle Galle (, ; , ) (formerly ) is a major city on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka, south of Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Southern Province, Sri Lanka and is the capital of Galle District. Galle was known as ''Gi ...

, he completed his education at

Mahinda College Mahinda College is a Buddhist boys' school in Galle, Sri Lanka. The school was established on 1 March 1892 by the Buddhist Theosophical Society led by Colonel Henry Steel Olcott. As of today it is a National school (Sri Lanka), national school whi ...

in Galle. Perera joined the Sri Lanka Air Force on 1 August 2004 and was commissioned as a pilot officer in July 2005. He played a major role during the final phase of the Sri Lankan Civil War, having joined the jet squadron to fly the Kfirs in 2007. Perera, who was promoted to the rank of flight lieutenant in 2010, had completed 450 air time hours and participated in 75 operations during his period of service.Shocked residents see Kfirs crashing
/ref> On March 1 2011, Perera was killed in a mid-air collision. He was flying as number 2 of a two-ship formation of Kfir fighter jets belonging to No. 10 Squadron SLAF based at SLAF Base Katunayake, which were enroute to fly the final rehearsal of the 60th Anniversary of the Sri Lankan Air Force. Although Perera was able to eject, his parachute malfunctioned and he fell to his death. The wreckage of both planes crashed near

Yakkala Yakkala is a village located between Nittambuwa and Kadawatha on the A1 Highway (Colombo-Kandy Road). It forms part of Gampaha Municipal Council and located in the Gampaha District, Western Province. It is located north-east from Colombo, east ...

in the

Gampaha District Gampaha District ( ''gampaha distrikkaya'', ''Kampakai Māvaṭṭam'') is one of the 25 Districts of Sri Lanka, districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the country. It is the second most populous district of Sri Lank ...

. He was posthumously promoted to the rank of squadron leader for his contribution to several Sri Lankan military operations during the civil war.Monath Perera promoted
/ref> The other pilot in the collision, Squadron Leader Vajira Jayakody, also ejected from his stricken Kfir and parachuted to the ground without incident.

References

External links

Heroes - Sri Lanka Air Force
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perera, Monath 1982 births 2011 deaths Sri Lankan Air Force officers Sri Lankan aviators Alumni of Mahinda College Sri Lanka Air Force Academy graduates People from Galle Sinhalese military personnel Sri Lankan military aviators