Shirantha Goonatilake

Group Captain Shirantha Goonatilake RWP,RSP, SLAF † was the youngest son of Air Vice Marshal Harry Goonatilake ndc, psc the 5th Commander of the Sri Lanka Air Force from 1976 to 1981. He was also the brother of the current Commander of the Air Force , Air Marshal Roshan Goonatilake.

Shirantha Goonatilake completed his education at the prestigious Royal College, Colombo and followed in the footsteps of his father and older brother to join the Sri Lanka Air Force. He was killed on 29 April 1995 when the Avro 748 he was piloting, at the time carrying 45 armed forces personnel, was attacked by the LTTE with a MANPADS. His last words over the radio were "A missile is coming my way", giving the Air Force the first indication that the LTTE were using SAMs. He was the Commanding Officer of Flying Training Wing at Ratmalana at the time of his death.