Sri Lankan air force training aircraft crashes, killing pilot and flight engineer
By BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI
Associated Press
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — A Sri Lankan air force training aircraft has crashed, killing the pilot and flight engineer. An air force spokesperson says the Chinese-built PT-6 plane crashed during a training flight two minutes after taking off from the air force academy at China Bay base in the eastern city of Trincomalee. He says the bodies of the pilot and flight engineer, the only people on board, were recovered. A special committee has been appointed to investigate the cause of the crash. Sri Lanka uses PT-6 planes mainly to train new pilots. The China Bay base is a former British air base.