Former Air Force chief dead

Air Chief Marshal Harry Goonetileke

Air Chief Marshal Harry Goonetileke, ndc, psc who served as the fifth commander of the Sri Lanka Air Force passed away early Friday morning at his home in Colombo at the age of 79.

He died of a heart attack while watching the Sri Lanka-West Indies one-day cricket match.

Air Chief Marshal Goonetilleke was Commander of the Air Force from 1976-1981. He joined the Air Force in 1951 in the first batch of recruits to the Air Force.

He is the father of the present Air Force Commander Air Marshal Roshan Gunatilleke as well as of the late Group Captain Shirantha Goonetileke, who was killed in action in 1995.