Charlie Romeo Eight Six Zero (CR. 860), a Sri Lanka Air Force Antonov 32, with a full complement of soldiers was ten miles out of Colombo last Monday night when its Ukrainian Pilot, Captain Subota, radioed Colombo Radar. He was at flight level 2000 feet and sought clearance to descend and land at the Ratmalana airport. "You are cleared for landing approach from the 04 end" - (the Galle Road side of the runway), Controllers told him.
Captain Subota and his crew, Co-pilot, Pilot Officer Dahanayake and trainee Flight Engineer, Flight Lieutenant Viraj Pandithasekera, were aware of the bad weather warning issued earlier by Air Traffic Controllers.
It was just past 8 p.m. The AN 32 was on its third sortie, the last for the day, ferrying troops to and from Palaly to Ratmalana. It made its descent to make a landing approach but found visibility to be near zero.
Captain Subota gained altitude and decided to circle over Colombo. Many in City homes, some at the dinner tables, were puzzled by the loud roar of engines as the AN 32 hovered at 1,000 feet. The noise was unusually close to the ears of City residents.
Around 8.45 p.m. Captain Subota returned towards the airport and lined up CR. 860 for a landing. The final approach from the Galle Road end of the runway appeared fine. The AN 32 dropped altitude as it headed for a touch down. Then came the biggest shock for the Captain and crew. There was zero visibility. Within a matter of seconds, there was near disaster for the 59 passengers and crew. The aircraft hit the ground once and was thrust into the air. It hit the ground again for a second time and same thing happened. During the third, the AN 32 fell with a strong thud. The under carriage collapsed due to the heavy impact forcing the nose area to crash head long on to the ground. There were wrinkles right round the area where the nose is riveted to the fuselage. The aircraft structure was a total write off. Miraculously no one was hurt. There were unending screams from soldiers aboard. To many of them, an SLAF air disaster or near miss in the recent months were still fresh in their minds.
Many soldiers disembarked and walked towards the terminal building. Others hitched a ride on SLAF vehicles.
Whilst the AN 32 (CR. 860) lay on the runway, senior officials at the SLAF base in Ratmalana had informed the top brass of the incident. Within hours, almost the entire hierarchy of the SLAF were on the runway. Among them, Commander of the SLAF, Air Marshal Oliver Ranasinghe, Chief of staff, Air Vice Marshal Anselm Peiris, Director Operations, Air Vice Marshal Jayalath Weerakkody.
Air Marshal Ranasinghe was evidently angry at the mishap. Ground crew heard him berate the Ukrainian pilot for not being able to make a "normal" landing.
The SLAF top rungers watched as a major clear up operation got under way. Those manning sentry points surrounding the Ratmalana airport were under orders not to allow media personnel (including cameramen) - a marked contrast to the crash of the AN 32 on February 21 at the same venue when press and TV cameramen were allowed in after a senior Police official appealed on their behalf. But this time, even the Police would have found it difficult. Sentries were to contact senior officials if the Police turned up. Of course, the presence of the latter became hardly necessary since there were no deaths or injuries to passengers or crew.
Under cover of darkness, cranes moved into the runway. Struts were placed and the aircraft was lifted. Thereafter, roller wheels were placed and the AN 32 was moved away from the runway. When this operation ended, it was 4 a.m. Tuesday, April 22. Clearing the runway became a top priority since other aircraft had to take off or land the next day.
But interesting enough, it was carried out under the watchful eyes not only of the first three top rungers of the SLAF but also a whole host of directors responsible for top positions keeping overnight vigil.
But officially, there was not one word on the incident. The Operational Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence remained silent although there has been many occasions when its news releases have said "there were no incidents" on occasions when there was nothing "significant" to report.
By Tuesday morning, things at Ratmalana airport were quite normal. There were no signs that an accident had occurred the previous night. The wrecked AN 32 lay near a museum.
But what happened to Charlie Romeo Eight Six Zero was quite clear, at least to the SLAF top rungers and airport staff who witnessed the goings on..
The airframe of the AN 32 is a wreck. The under carriage is badly damaged. So is the front wing and the instrument panel. But the engines were not damaged. So were the recently fitted anti-missile systems.
A preliminary assessment by SLAF experts have revealed that repair costs would come to almost half the price paid for the AN 32 . The AN 32s were purchased at a cost of US $ 3.9 million dollars each. Moreover, it would take well over one and half years to effect the repairs.
Charlie Romeo Eight Six Zero becomes the fourth Ukrainian built AN 32 to be lost by the Sri Lanka Air Force due to reasons not related to enemy action. This AN 32 was the last in a fleet of three initially purchased by the SLAF. Of a second fleet of four purchased thereafter, the SLAF lost one. Hence, the Air Force is now left with only THREE out of the SEVEN AN 32s.
The rest were all lost during Eelam War Three . It began with the loss of an AN 32 on September 13, 1995. It plunged into the seas off Ja-ela reportedly in turbulent weather. An AN 32 went missing on November 22, 1995, off Palaly. A third AN 32 crashed at the Ratmalana airport following an aborted take off on February 21.
The four AN 32s were only part of a record 17 aircraft the SLAF has lost during Eelam War Three, a period of just two years. Although the reason for Monday's incident has been attributed to bad weather, this is the first time in the history of the separatist war that it had caused such serious damage to aircraft.
This has raised serious questions on whether all is well with the Sri Lanka Air Force. Questions are being raised about how crew compositions are worked out and whether experienced personnel have been deployed on regular missions.
Quite apart from the factor of competent personnel, an equally important question is regarding the electronic devices and instrumentation that should have been available for aircraft to land and take off in bad weather. In today's technology, inclement weather hardly restricts air movements unless the weather conditions are of an extreme nature.
Since Ratmalana is the home base of the air transport command, that this airfield is equipped with up-to-date equipment is critically important, especially so when it is the focal point of support operations for the war. The Ministry of Defence and the SLAF are accountable to the public in this regard and an explanation from them as to how this situation came to be is warranted. It was fortunate that only the equipment was damaged. It could have been much worse had there been human casualties as well.
This is not the first occasion when planning, operational equipment defects and similar shortcomings have brought about disasters with heavy loss of equipment and lives.
There is no questioning that in a war, losses of equipment and human resources are to be expected. But that does not give the relevant defence authorities, be it the Ministry of Defence, the Army, Navy or Air Force the licence to permit these disasters because of omissions or commissions (no pun intended). This is a serious matter and the public are concerned.
Too many Courts of Inquiry are gathering dust in the limbo of "service archives" because the findings and conclusions of these inquiries might embarrass the system and those protected by its patronage.
In any other country heads would roll. In fact in many a country those in positions of leadership In any other country heads would roll. In fact in many a country those positions of leadership have resigned with dignity and honour taking responsibilities for lapses of a much lesser magnitude even though it has been their subordinates who have been directly answerable. Alas, these traditions are long dead. Monday's incident came barely two weeks after another in which an AN 32 preparing for take off from the Ratmalana airport, had one of its engines stalled. The aircraft with a load of soldiers was bound for Palaly . A systems check had to be carried out and the AN 32 took off hours later.
A highly disturbing feature in the recent months has been the deafening silence by those in the defence establishment over one fiasco after another the SLAF has been getting into.
Procurements worth millions of rupees, particularly a fleet of aircraft demanded by the SLAF, are now before the Ministry of Defence for approval. In this case the leadership has preferred to buy a fleet of used aircraft instead of new ones off the production lines from another leading manufacturer.
Whilst the go ahead for this is pending, the SLAF has with the approval of the Ministry of Defence, embarked on a multi million rupee project to secure all its installations with electronic fencing. An Israeli supplier has won the award for this project and work in one key installation has already got under way. The electronic fencing programme won the Ministry of Defence approval after the LTTE attack on the China Bay Air Base on March 6. Tiger guerrillas destroyed a Chinese built Y 12 aircraft and two ZV 23 anti aircraft guns The SLAF move to invest millions to go hi-tech has raised serious queries in some sections of the defence establishment. They point out that a sizable part of the SLAF's losses were not due to enemy action but due to other factors like bad or improper managerial styles, crew fatigue, lack of proper supervision, low morale, serious allegations of corrupt practices among a number of other reasons. No amount of hi-tech equipment purchases costing millions of rupees is going to be a substitute for the inefficiency of the human being. The electronic fence would keep the Tigers at bay so long as the men tasked to respond to an intrusion react. If they fail, the system is of no use. What is much worse is that the establishment is lulled into a state of complacency relying on electronic devices as a substitute to human vigilance.
This is whilst the circumstances under which some of the recent crashes of the SLAF aircraft have occurred are yet to be determined officially.
SLAF top brass were seeking Ministry of Defence approval to hire foreign experts from an European capital to probe the loss of its only air worthy Pucara fixed wing bomber on March 16, 1997.
As reported in these columns (Situation Report March 23), the SLAF acquired four Pucaras from Argentina in 1985 at a cost of US $ 2.6 million each. Even at the time of purchase, the Pucaras were out of production. The SLAF lost its first Pucara on July 14, 1995, when it was on an operational sortie near Sandilipay during "Operation Leap Forward." Besides another loss on March 16, two more Pucaras have remained grounded due to non availability of spares.
In this backdrop, a Buenos Aires (Argentine capital) date-lined report by the leading international news agency Agence France Presse (AFP) is revealing. Here is the full report:
"Buenos Aires, April 8 (AFP) - Customs agents recently foiled an attempt to smuggle bombs to Rumania and fighter jet parts to Sri Lanka, the Clarin daily reported Tuesday.
The report follows an investigation into illegal weapons sales to Croatia and Ecuador had cost a cabinet minister his job in July, 1996.
Customs officials have filed suit against Sistemas Technologicos Aeronauticos (SITEA), a consortium owned by the government and two private companies that manufacture explosives. The firm is accused of mislabelling items in export containers and failing to obtain government authorisation for weapons exports, the newspaper said, citing court documents.
In February Customs agents raided a warehouse in southern Buenos Aires and found about 100 bombs packed into two shipping containers, presumably waiting to be shipped out to Rumania.
The contraband investigation began in April 1996 when officials uncovered a shipment of replacement parts for Argentine-built Pucara anti-guerrilla planes sent to Sri Lanka and mislabeled as faucets.
In October, the US Embassy warned officials that the shells of two SITEA-built bombs had "mysteriously" surfaced in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong is considered a key contact point for shady weapons sales. Argentine officials believe the shells were bombs that had been filled with cement and sent earlier to China for aerodynamic tests.
The tests resulted in a two million dollar contract for SITEA to build 4,000 bombs for an Israeli intermediary company called Elbit, destined for the Rumanian air force.
The company, however, did not have necessary export clearance from the ministries of foreign affairs, defence and economy."
The references to Sri Lanka raises some very interesting questions. It is an open secret that two Pucaras have been grounded for want of spares. Arms deals involve big money and big kickbacks. Was a foreign group trying to smuggle the spares to be sold to the SLAF ? Did they have local contacts in Sri Lanka ? Were there others within the official system giving any backing ? Answers to these questions will reveal a lot, particularly at a time when billions of rupees worth of military procurements have become subjects of severe criticism. Now to the loss of the SLAF MI 24 Hind helicopter gunship. A three member Court of Inquiry appointed by the SLAF Commander, Air Marshal Oliver Ranasinghe, is now probing the loss of this helicopter gunship some four kilometres off the shores of Mullaitivu. On March 19. It is headed by Air Commondore Donald Perera, who is attached to the SLAF headquarters in Colombo. Since the loss of this MI 24, the badly decomposed bodies of two SLAF airmen, who were members of the crew, surfaced in the South Indian coastal town of Nagapatnam. The bodies were flown down to Colombo. A Magisterial inquiry was held before the bodies were handed over to the next of kin. One airman, medical evidence led at the inquest revealed, had sustained a head injury whilst the other had a fracture in the leg. Evidence before the inquest SLAF officials claim suggest that these injuries may have been sustained when the MI 24 crashed into the sea. This is one aspect the Court of Inquiry is now going into.
Early this month, a team from the manufacturers of the MI 24 were in Colombo to conduct inquiries of their own. According to authoritative sources, they could not accomplish their task. The source claimed there was no official backing or co-operation for the team.
The SLAF procured the MI 24s through a third party and not directly from the manufacturers.
Complaints of serious shortcomings in the services have been reaching the highest levels of the Government time and again. But one glaring instance surfaced the most unexpected way.
Early this week, none other than President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, the Commander-in-Chief, set aside protocol and boldly ventured out to investigate a complaint she had learnt of. It happened when she was in Anuradhapura on Sunday to plant a bo-sapling, a gift which Foreign Minister, Lakshman Kadirgamar, had received when he was in India.
Unannounced, President Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, drove to the Two Division Headquarters of the Sri Lanka Army, located barely three kilometres from the sacred Sri Maha Bodhi. She proceeded straight to the kitchen area to inspect conditions. They were squalid. The stench from the drains were too much for her to bear. She held a handkerchief to her nose on an off to ward off the offensive odour. Flies were rampant and hordes rested on cut vegetables.
Needless to say she was infuriated. Mrs. Bandaranaike Kumaratunga questioned the soldiers. They revealed that the quality of the food served to them was poor and the conditions under which they were prepared was unhygenic. One of them likened the meals to one that tasted rice and water. The President has ordered a full inquiry into the matter and directed that those responsible should be dealt with. I understand that Army Headquarters is also calling for a full report.
The soldiers were full of praise for their Commander-in-Chief, for the manner in which she courageously walked in and made the on-the-spot check. This was instead of detailing the task to some official to go into the matter.
"She feels for us not only as our President and Commander-in- Chief but also as a mother to a child," a soldier who was eyewitness to the event told me. He was touched by the President's assertion that she was not releasing money for soldier welfare to be spent that way.
President Bandaranaike Kumaratunga's visit to the Two Division headquarters came barely two weeks after a gala tamasha with booze, baila and barbecue session that followed a Seva Vanitha annual sale. As is customary, it was confined only to officers and wives.
But, as President Bandaranaike Kumaratunga discovered, for the other ranks, what was dished out in their day to day life as good food was found wanting both in quality and in hygiene.
It is often said that the Army marches on its stomach. It is a metaphorical reference that the basic needs of an Army has to be met for its well being.
In fact the tradition in the military has been that officers in the field do not partake in meals until after their men do. It signifies the sense of caring that the leadership should have.
As shocking is the revelation of the conditions in this particular kitchen is the fact that such a situation has existed obviously by default by the hierarchy, from the top down to lower formation headquarters, responsible for supervision of logistics of their units.
Some senior serving military officials say that the principle of supervision and military thinking is two levels down the chain of command. In this state of affairs those two steps above the supervisory level of the cookhouse fiasco should take the kick.
Almost all media, at one time or other, have focused on the military debacles that have resulted from mismanagement. The reasons for this has been many. Purchase of outdated or unsuitable equipment, the lack of transparency in procurement procedures leaving room for speculation of graft, corruption or commissions. Even though such speculation may be exaggerated, there are nevertheless strong reasons for the these rumours to be valid.
The deafening silence by the defence establishment to these exposures in spite of the Government's pledge of transparency add further currency for public disquiet. The worst result of this mismanagement is the human suffering caused as a result of deaths of servicemen and life long disabilities to those wounded.
It is sad that the military debacles are forgotten few months after their occurrence. They are subordinated into oblivion by successive governments that owe it to the public that each and every mishap which seems to stem from managerial or other accountable lapses are fully investigated, remedies found and the public kept informed at least on a need to know basis.
After all the Army and the Government are waging this war for and behalf of the public and the nation. This is a fact that should not be forgotten.
Return to the Editorial/Opinion contents page