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7 plane crashes that shook the history of Sri Lanka

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Air travel is the least dangerous mode of travel in the world. Even so, occasional plane crashes can be heartbreaking around the world. Many air accidents have been reported in Sri Lanka from time to time. However, Air Ceylon, Air Lanka and now Sri Lankan Airlines, are less likely to be involved in accidents.

In fact, not a single aircraft of our national carrier has been involved in a major plane crash in the air. What are the worst air accidents reported from Sri Lanka? Let us dig in a little bit about it.

Martin Air DC8 Skyscraper crash at the 7-virgin mountain

On the night of December 4, 1974, a plane en-route to Mecca from Surabaya, Indonesia, crashed into the Sapta Kanya (7-virgin mountain) mountain range. All 191 people on board, including the crew, were killed in the crash. The plane had landed at Katunayake due to a technical fault. Meanwhile, the pilot who was confused into assuming that the lights of the Laxapana Power Plant was the airport, had lowered the plane to land on it.

Then, when the pilot is realized that it was not an airport, it was too late to take off again. It had been suggested that the accident may have been due to some communication errors. The official cause of the crash was a technical fault. Today the tombs of those Indonesians are located near the Sapta Kanya mountain range. Even recently, Indonesians had come to the Sapta Kanya border to visit the graves of their relatives.

Terrorist attack in Katunayake

The Katunayake terrorist attack is the biggest air accident in the history of Sri Lanka. Three passenger planes were completely destroyed and eight Air Force planes were destroyed. The bomber struck shortly after noon injuring 14 other aircraft. The value of the civilian aircraft damaged in the crash alone was more than $ 350 million. At around 3.30 am on July 24, 2001, 14 terrorists entered the airport and launched an attack until 11 am that morning. All 14 terrorists were killed and 7 others were killed in the incident.  Terrorist attacks on Sri Lanka’s main airport, a popular tourist destination, have dealt a severe blow to the tourism industry. It also added a big black mark to Sri Lanka’s reputation.

1978 Islandic Airlines accident

Slightly similar to the incident before, the Garuda Indonesia flight was en route from Mecca, Saudi Arabia to Surabaya, Indonesia. The plane, which took off from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, was scheduled to land at the Katunayake International Airport in Sri Lanka on its way to Surabaya. The plane crashed into a rubber coconut plantation near Katunayake due to an error while landing. All 183 people on board were killed.

Subsequent investigations revealed that this was a plane crash caused by the pilot’s fault during the landing. Surprisingly, the first part of the aircraft did not catch fire. 47 passengers in that section survived.

2007 Anuradhapura Terrorist Attack

Although it is somewhat difficult to directly describe this as a plane crash, the terrorist attack on the Anuradhapura airport was a major blow to the Sri Lanka Air Force. The Ceylon Air Force lost 16 aircraft worth over Rs. 4 billion. About 22 planes were parked at the Anuradhapura airport at the time of the attack. Among them were fighter jets such as the Kfir and the MiG. It is somewhat surprising that six years after the attack on the Katunayake airport, there has been another attack on the airport. Poor security at the Anuradhapura airport made it easier for terrorists to enter the base and attack the planes.

April 28-29, 1995 Plane crashes

Both of these double-crashed aircraft were Avro aircraft. The flights were to depart from Katunayake, stop at Anuradhapura and proceed to Palely. Both aircraft were hit by missiles in the LTTE controlled Vanni. Of those, 51 were on board the plane that crashed on the 28th and 52 on board on the 29th. The two planes were attacked by man-made surface-to-air missiles known as man pods.

On the 28th, an engine of the plane caught fire and no one knew why. Only one soldier was seen something hitting the wing of the aircraft, but no one thought it was a missile. However, after the downing of the second Avro on the 29th, the LTTE claimed responsibility for the two attacks on its LTTE radio station.

These planes were carrying soldiers and officers on leave. The second plane also killed three Lakehouse journalists, who also died in the crash.

2011 Kfir plane crash

Kfir planes, which fly at the speed of sound in the air, were a killer that destroys terrorist enemy forces. Unfortunately, after the war, the Ceylon Air Force lost two Kfir planes in a collision. Following the crash on March 2, 2011, the cockpits of both planes were thrown into the air by small rockets under the cockpit of Kfir fighter jets. Of the two pilots, only one pilot was lucky enough to survive. The other pilot was dead.

Lion Air aircraft

Lion Air, a small airline, handled passenger and military transport from Ratmalana to Palali. There were 4 Russian national crew on that flight. The pilot was also a Russian. The plane was flying over the sea, but was attacked by LTTE monopod missiles. All 48 passengers and seven crew members were killed in the accident. The plane was spotted by Thebe near Iranathiv Island in 2012. The bomber struck shortly after noon in front of a U.S. military base.
In the early days of aviation, people considered air travel to be very dangerous. But now with the advancement of aircraft technology, the number of plane crashes has decreased. Many of the accidents that befell Sri Lanka were caused by terrorist riots. Now that the terrorist riots are over, there is no greater fear of such terrorist attacks.

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Avoid these at hotels!

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A hotel room is just a space we rent. We can carry bedsheets and pillows with us when we travel far and wide. But none of us can carry our own bedrooms wherever we go. Therefore, we book a hotel room for our convenience. In such cases it is always useful to have adequate knowledge of what we should not do in hotel rooms. So, we thought we’d bring you 7 inappropriate things that people tend to do in hotel rooms even without intending to and help you avoid them.

Cooking in an inappropriate environment

There was a big accident on a Pakistani train the other day. Passengers on the 30-hour train from Karachi to Rawalpindi had used some gas to cook.

So, it had all started with a fire that ended up spreading to the whole train. As a result, 74 people were killed. Which means the hotel room is also like a stranger to us. If a fire breaks out in such a place and the hotel catches fire, we too will be in some very huge unwanted trouble.

Therefore, it is our duty to not start cooking unless it is an appropriate place. Meanwhile, it was reported that some Indian nationals who had come to Sri Lanka from India had eaten roti baked goods on laundry irons. These are not good things that people are supposed to do in hotel rooms either.

Lifting things from the Hotel

Fancy hotel rooms are equipped with electric irons, electric kettles, hair dryers, filters, fans, fragrances, and fine bathroom accessories.

Soaps, shampoos, etc., are not a big deal if you use them from the hotel and pick them up. But some people are accustomed to carrying valuables and towels, sheets, etc. in bags in that hotel room.

While doing this, if we are not caught then maybe it’s the luck and we end up taking the goods. But if incase we get caught, it will end up in having to face great shame for the country we live in, the area where we live, ourselves and our family.

Launching rockets and fireworks

In an urban area, with beautiful surroundings, you rent a hotel and your room is on the topmost floor. When we look at the world around us from this floor, we see beautiful things. We may also happen to imagine making a paper rocket and lighting crackers or a skylight and so on to have some fun.

But doing such things may result in leading to vacate the hotel. Because if we were at the hotel and prepare such rockets, set off fireworks and involve in nonsenses, the people around would complain and then the hotel would get into trouble. Especially in a developed country, if you put birds or fireworks outside like that, you may even have to get involved with policemen.

Leaving valuables behind

When we say leaving valuable behind, it doesn’t mean that we can’t leave behind the husband or girlfriend who accompanies us wants to rest since they are a little tired, while we go for a walk. What we mean here is that it is not a good idea to leave all your valuables items, such as laptops, phones, and jewelry, in the hotel room and leave the room unattended.

There are thieves in every nook and corner. So, the most important thing is to take all your valuables with you wherever you go and to keep every other item as safe as possible when you go to a hotel room.

Cigarette smoking and steam bathing

Well established and fancy hotels now have special facilities to steam the body. In such cases we have to be very sure that we close the door of the steam room properly. Also, if you are going to a non-smoking room in the hotel, you need to be a little more careful about the fire sensor when smoking.

If the smoke and cigarette smoke activate the smoke sensor, the hotel security may break into your room without permission, assuming a fire is extinguished.

Screaming and partying

If you are planning on throwing a party, you should always inform the hotel beforehand. otherwise if the people in the next room get upset, the fun that you have all planned will be ruined. Also because of us, they too will not be able to rest and take the vacation they planned for.

You can’t go to hotel rooms and behave like you are observing Sil for poyas. It doesn’t or should not be that way. But it is always a nice act to make an effort to have our fun at the same time to make sure that we do not disturb the others around the neighborhood. So, we have to set some limits on the sound we make as well as the volume of our music. Being aware of it and having fun without making a fuss is something that is advised in a hotel room.

Changing the setup

When we go to hotels, the interior is always placed exactly in the way that they want, and not in the way that we want. The bed is not where we want it to be. We don’t find a cupboard where we want it to be. We don’t think there is a proper room artwork. But that does not mean we can change everything to the way that we want it. Getting used to a different setup, in a different place at a time, is also a lot of fun. It is not advisable to change the layout of a room in a hotel without their permission. If in case you change the valuable artwork and the interior of the room, in addition to the hotel room bills, you will have to pay the hotel fee as well.

Due to some misconduct of Indian and Chinese tourists in the history, certain Sri Lankan hotels do not even offer rooms to Indians and Chinese any more. Also, there are places in Sri Lanka where locals are also banned due to their strange behavior.

Therefore, when we go for vacation to a hotel, we have to always make sure that we leave the room in such a way that someone else can occupy it once again. Also, we have to make sure that we choose the room for our requirements accurately. For an instance a group of 7-8 friends wants to get a room to party and have some fun, which means there is no reason for them to book a cheap room which is meant for couples to make out.

Therefore, it is always advised to make sure to pick the right room for the right reason and not being a burden to others but rather enjoying on your own and making sure that you leave with only your belongings which will at the end of the day result in people talking good about you.

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Habits that make you looks cheap

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People have diverse understandings of what we call class. But no matter how much money, knowledge, status or social class one has, the little things that these few people do, drops their class to zero.

and this is exactly what we are going to talk about. These are habits that most people say that originate from your childhood, from your environment and the way you have been brought up, however some can be from other social backgrounds. While the rest can be their very own personal shortcomings.

But the important thing is that everything mentioned here are habits that one can amend, therefore what you can do after reading this article is to try getting rid of these bad habits, bad addictions and shortcomings, in case you have any.

 

Usage of bad words

Now usually when we talk to a friend, we use terms like ‘Uba’ and ‘machan’ which may have the possibility to be considered as a bad word by a child. But here we aren’t talking about such words. Now there are some folks, no matter where they are or who they are with, they just enjoy starting their sentences with filth. Also, there are these other folks who love using double meaning stories, words or phrases when there are girls around.

Of course, talking to a close friend who knows all about you is not something wrong. But at office, in the general public or among ordinary acquaintances, the use of filth, double-meaning stories and words that can be called vulgar in general, is not a very nice or respectable thing to do. There are also people on social media who spread the usage of filth all over, but they need to be more careful as this trait brings down your class among the society.

 

Slippers during weekdays

Normally there is a standard work wear for an office, something formal and decent to represent oneself respectfully. At some offices wearing something casual as a T-shirt is alright. But putting on shoes is essential for most of the offices during all five working days of a week. Therefore, during office hours apart from Saturdays which is a casual wear day, it can be a little too inappropriate to come into the office wearing sandals instead of shoes. Also, this habit can easily drop your class among the society

 

Unpolished shoes

 

Shoes need to be cleaned. They must be polished well. Nowadays, people don’t clean their shoes for work, they end up wearing the same dusty shoe all five days but even though it is a leather shoe or suede shoe people must understand to wear cleaned shoes. Otherwise they end up looking indecent and it brings down their class when they wear stained, old and unpolished shoes. In fact, no matter how old the shoes are, if they are properly polished and kept clean, they will not look old.

 

Unpleasantness

Many people think that it takes a lot of money to look good. That is not what it is!

Basically, when a man goes out, he shaves his beard, cleans his teeth, to say in short, he does exactly his part of grooming, and then he looks important, decent and clean. It doesn’t matter if the beard and hair are styled. But they must make sure that it is maintained well. They must shower and maintain their personal hygiene if not this look will make them seem unpleasant and bring down their class.

 

A word is a word

A person’s status or class can be identified through his actions and if he seems to be a person who would keep his/her word. One of the main things that enhances a person’s status is this quality of keeping their word. That does not mean impossible things are promised. If something is promised, that promise will not be broken. It is not nice to not keep the word.

But here’s something else. With our busy lives, we may sometimes have to change what we said. But the right thing to do at such times is to inform the person or party in advance that they will not be able to fulfill their promise at that moment.

 

Spit everywhere

Some day or the other we have all seen gentlemen getting out of their fully air-conditioned cars and spitting on the side of the road. This very much reduces your status in the society. They may be spitting betel nut, chewing gum or just saliva but in the end of the day it’s a shame for that person as well as disgusting for the person who sees it.

 

Embarrassed

 

Apart from those being a gay or lesbian, Men and women are usually attracted to each other. Flirting with each other in a decent way is never wrong. but there are these men who try to make silly and inappropriate jokes in front of girls, they try touching while talking and they try to exceed their limits. This behavior is very unacceptable and offensive. This is another trait that we find in most men today which reduces their class in the society.

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