Colombo, March 27 -- While highlighting that the statements made by Minister of Civil Aviation Bimal Ratnayake on the recent crash of a Sri Lanka Airforce (SLAF) aircraft in Wariyapola is not valid, former Deputy Minister of Defence Pramitha Bandara Tennekoon said the Minister should tender an apology to the SLAF.

The following is the statement issued by former Deputy Minister:

Civil Aviation Minister Bimal Ratnayake has said the cause of the recent crash of the SLAF aircraft is due to an error by the pilots. This is totally false.

A court of inquiry has to be appointed to look into an aircraft crash during such an eventuality. Statements have to be recorded from the pilots in the event they escape a crash. The inquiry report is then...