Anuradhapura - Palaly

On April 29, 1995 at 08:45 AM, Anuradhapura - Palaly experienced a crash involving Avro 748, operated by Helitours, with the event recorded near Jaffna (Palaly) Northern Province (<U+0BB5><U+0B9F> <U+0BAE><U+0BBE><U+0B95><U+0BBE><U+0BA3><U+0BAE><U+0BCD>).

The flight was categorized as military and the reported phase was landing (descent or approach) at a airport (less than 10 km from airport) crash site.

52 people were known to be on board, 52 fatalities were recorded, 0 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 100.0%.

Crew on board: 3, crew fatalities: 3, passengers on board: 49, passenger fatalities: 49, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is terrorism act, hijacking, sabotage. The aircraft was completing a flight from Anuradhapura to Jaffna-Palaly Airport on behalf of the Sri Lanka Air Force. On final approach, at an altitude of 3,000 feet, the aircraft was shot down by a surface-to-air missile and crashed in a huge explosion. All 52 occupants were killed, among them 44 soldiers, two policemen, three journalists and three crew members.

Aircraft reference details include registration 4R-HVA, MSN 1768, year of manufacture 1979.