 An Antonov An-24RV similar to the one involved. | |
| Shootdown | |
|---|---|
| Date | 29 September 1998 |
| Summary | Shot down by a missile fired from a MANPADS |
| Site | Off the coast of Iranaitivu, Mannar District, Sri Lanka 8°58′N 79°53′E / 8.967°N 79.883°E / 8.967; 79.883 |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Antonov An-24RV |
| Operator | Lionair |
| Registration | EW-46465 |
| Flight origin | Kankesanturai Airport, Jaffna, Sri Lanka |
| Destination | Ratmalana Airport, Colombo, Sri Lanka |
| Occupants | 55 |
| Passengers | 48 |
| Crew | 7 |
| Fatalities | 55 |
| Survivors | 0 |
Lionair Flight 602 was a Lionair Antonov An-24RV which crashed into the sea off the north-western coast of Sri Lanka on 29 September 1998. The aircraft departed Jaffna Airport with 48 passengers and a crew of seven; it disappeared from radar screens ten minutes into the flight. Initial reports indicated that the plane had been shot down by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) using a man-portable surface-to-air missile, which has since been confirmed. All aboard were presumed killed.
Aircraft and crew
The Antonov AN-24RV was leased from Belarusian company Gomelavia to operate Flight 602. It was captained by Anatoli Matochko and had six other crew including a Sinhalese stewardess. There were 48 passengers, all Tamils, including 17 women and 8 children.
Crash
The aircraft went missing ten minutes after taking off from Jaffna Airport at 13:40 on 29 September 1998 on a scheduled flight to Colombo; all those aboard were presumed killed. The pilot reported depressurisation a short time before contact was lost. Following the downing of Flight LN 602, all civil aviation between Colombo and Jaffna was suspended for many months by the Sri Lanka Civil Aviation Authority.
Pre-crash warnings
Lionair, the main operator of Colombo-Jaffna flights, received a warning letter a month before the incident from the Tamil Eelam Administrative Service, stating that if the airline continued to ignore a prior warning about carrying Sri Lanka Armed Forces personnel, it would be attacked after 14 September. The airline closed its office in Jaffna four days before the incident.
Investigation
In October 2012, the Sri Lankan Navy discovered wreckage which was believed to be the disintegrated parts of the missing Antonov on the sea bed off Iranaitivu Island. Information concerning the crash site was gained from a former LTTE cadre who had left Sri Lanka and was arrested on his return by the Police Terrorist Investigation Department. He confessed to having fired a missile at the aircraft from Iranaitivu Island on the orders of Poththu Amman, a leading member of the LTTE.
The Navy salvaged the first pieces of the wreckage in May 2013, nearly 15 years after the event. No trace of either black box (flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder) was found among the 30% to 40% of the aircraft's wreckage that was salvaged. Only a highly corroded and damaged debris was later identified as the auxiliary data recorder. Clothing and remains from 22 victims recovered in the salvage operation were put on display in Jaffna for identification in January 2014.
See also
- Malaysia Airlines Flight 17
- Korean Air Lines Flight 007
- Air Lanka Flight 512
- Air Ceylon Avro 748 4R-ACJ bombing
References
- ^ Criminal Occurrence description at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 23 November 2006.
- ^ Nathaniel, Camelia (12 January 2014). "Remains Of Lion Air Victims Displayed". The Sunday Leader. Archived from the original on 19 June 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
- ^ "Shattered dreams behind Lion Air mystery". Sunday Times. 4 October 1998.
- Mehta, Ashok K. (4 April 2000). "More than ever, Eelam seems a reality now". India's Vietnam: The IPKF in Sri Lanka: 10 Years On. Rediff.
- "Sri Lanka Navy salvage wreckage of Lion Air". Ministry of Defense and Urban Development. 5 June 2013. Archived from the original on 23 October 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
- https://www.caa.lk/images/pdf/past_acciden_incident_reports/18_Report_final_Lionair_LN602.pdf p. 17
- Rutnam, Easwaran (5 May 2013). "Lionair Flight 602 salvaged". Colombo Gazette.
| Aviation accidents and incidents in 1998 (1998) | |
|---|---|
| Feb 2 Cebu Pacific Flight 387Feb 3 Cavalese cable car crashFeb 12 Sudan Air Force crashFeb 16 China Airlines Flight 676Mar 18 Formosa Airlines Flight 7623Mar 19 Ariana Afghan Airlines Boeing 727 crashMar 22 Philippine Airlines Flight 137Apr 20 Air France Flight 422May 5 Occidental Petroleum Boeing 737 crashMay 25 Pakistan International Airlines Flight 544May 26 MIAT Mongolian Airlines crashJun 18 Propair Flight 420Jun 28 United Airlines Flight 863Jul 30 Indian Airlines Flight 503Jul 30 Proteus Airlines Flight 706Aug 5 Korean Air Flight 8702Aug 24 Myanma Airways Flight 635Aug 29 Cubana de Aviación Flight 389Sep 2 Swissair Flight 111Sep 25 PauknAir Flight 4101Sep 29 Lionair Flight 602Oct 10 Lignes Aériennes Congolaises Boeing 727 crashDec 11 Thai Airways International Flight 261 | |
| 1997 ◄ ► 1999 |
| Aviation accidents and incidents in Sri Lanka | |
|---|---|
|
| Sri Lankan civil war timeline | |
|---|---|
| ↓Four Four Bravo↓Black July↓Air Lanka Flight 512↓Indo-Sri Lanka Accord↓JVP insurrection↓Maldives coup d'état attempt↓Police massacre↓Expulsion of Muslims↓Rajiv Gandhi Assassination↓Ranasinghe Premadasa Assassination↓Central Bank bombing↓Dehiwala train bombing↓WTC bombing↓Temple of the Tooth attack↓Lionair Flight 602↓Chandrika Kumaratunga assassination attempt↓Bandaranaike Airport attack↓Colombo Suicide air raid↓Death of PrabhakaranEelam War IIndian interventionEelam War IICease FireEelam War IIICease FireEelam War IVSri Lankan President: JayewardenePremadasaWijetungaKumaratungaRajapaksaArmy: WeeratungaSeneviratneWanasingheWaidyaratneDe SilvaDaluwatteWeerasooriyaBalagalleKottegodaFonsekaLTTE leader: PrabhakaranPathmanathan│1983│1984│1985│1986│1987│1988│1989│1990│1991│1992│1993│1994│1995│1996│1997│1998│1999│2000│2001│2002│2003│2004│2005│2006│2007│2008│2009 |
- Airliner shootdown incidents
- Attacks on civilians attributed to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
- Aviation accidents and incidents in 1998
- Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam attacks in Eelam War III
- Mass murder in 1998
- Terrorist incidents in Sri Lanka in 1998
- 20th-century aircraft shootdown incidents
- September 1998 events in Asia
- Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam attacks against airliners
- Accidents and incidents involving the Antonov An-24
- War crimes in the Sri Lankan civil war
- 20th-century mass murder in Sri Lanka