Dilan Richard came to our attention in 2022. At that time, he was in Australia and ineligible for one of our Scholarships, but his story stole our hearts, and we knew that if he came to New Zealand, we could help him.
He and his younger siblings were born in a refugee camp in Sri Lanka. Dilan and his family are devout Christian Tamils and as persecution in Sri Lanka became more open and violent, the refugee camp was no longer safe, and his family fled the country hoping to find a better life in Australia.
Dilan had grown up being hunted because of his faith. After fleeing Sri Lanka in 2014, he was hunted because of his family’s desperation to be able to feel safe and live a normal life free from fear. Instead of finding that dreamed of life in Australia, they were intercepted as illegal boat people and once they were in the custody of the Australian authorities, Dilan’s life and wellbeing seemed to count for nothing.
Just like in an errant European country nearly 90 years ago, Dilan lost his name and instead he was known only by a number. It was tagged to his wrist - for years.
Unlike every other person we have ever known, Dilan’s first introduction to flying was not as a voluntary passenger – either in a light aircraft or with a commercial airline. Dilan’s introduction to flight was as a 15-year-old, shackled at his wrists and ankles. He was seated between two burly Australian guards, separated from his parents, being transported to Nauru. And here we find the measure of the man Dilan was growing to become. He wasn’t angry. He wasn’t resentful or scared. He was sitting there realising that flight was a remarkable feeling and he had an epiphany. He would become an airline pilot, come what may. But he had to cool his heels for a few years…
Life on Nauru was cruel and deprived on an unimaginable scale. The island lies 53kms south of the Equator. Heat and humidity are intense. The accommodation was large plastic tents sitting closely together, filled with high sided cots. Multiple families shared a tent and there was ZERO privacy – all the cots were squashed together. Parents couldn’t be parents and quiet family time was non-existent. There was no sense of security or safety as the detainees fell asleep at night.
Photos above. Location of Nauru, Dilan arriving in Nauru, the tents, conditions inside the tents.
Dilan saw, and experienced, terrible beatings at the hands of the guards, and never knew why. Out of the sight and minds of the rest of the world, the island was nothing more than a concentration camp.
Unsurprisingly, his younger brother developed severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder which progressed to Resignation Syndrome. It is a terrible condition that children who are incarcerated fall victim to. They lose hope, just give up and eventually die. He stopped eating and communicating and became suicidal. His health went into a precipitous decline which couldn’t be arrested with the conditions on Nauru.
Eventually, after nearly four years, Dilan and his family were moved to Australia so his brother could get treatment, but the family still remained under austere living conditions in Queensland.
Being a refugee in Sri Lanka and imprisoned on Nauru, Dilan’s opportunity to embrace formal schooling was patchy at best. However, he realised very early on, the only way to improve his chances of a successful life would be to become fluent in English. He embraced English lessons and did extra self-directed study to become fluent.
After he finished ‘secondary school’ in Nauru he volunteered for Medicin Sans Frontiers as a logistics and supply officer and used his language skills to become a translator for them... until they were kicked out of Nauru with their humanitarian work not appreciated by the Australian Government.
As soon as he arrived in Australia, with fewer restrictions on his movements, Dilan sought work and flying lessons. He wasn’t permitted to pursue tertiary education or gain any permanent employment. He could only take up casual or 3 - 6 month positions. Nonetheless, he worked hard and diligently to support his family, and any spare money was used for flying lessons.
First solo in Australia
For five years, Dilan had a variety of casual and part time jobs. He started working in a vegetable and strawberry farm (so he needed to wake up as early as 4am to start work at 5am). He did bond cleaning, Kmart floor polishing and then eventually got employed as a phone technician, with each role secured in cell phone IT moving him up in seniority. Surprisingly, he also worked at Brisbane International Airport as International screener and Aviation protection office – proving the Australian government never saw him as a genuine threat, only incarcerating him and his family because they could.
Meanwhile, the previous NZ Government had been relentlessly pushing Australia to allow 150 refugees a year to settle in New Zealand. Australia finally acceded, and Dilan was accepted to immigrate to New Zealand as a refugee. We wrote a letter in support of Dilan for this process.
He arrived in NZ, hitting the ground running and has impressed all those he has come in contact with since his arrival in December 2023. Sadly, his family still remain in Queensland, but his younger brother has since arrived as a refugee and is now studying medicine at university.
Like all refugees arriving in New Zealand, Dilan spent some time at the Mangere processing centre but once the authorities saw how integrated Dilan was with his fluent English and his career goal playing out, they released him early to come to Christchurch to live.
As a refugee, Dilan is automatically a permanent resident, and he wishes to pursue citizenship as soon as he can. He has a strong sense of loyalty to New Zealand for giving him the chance to live a normal life and treating him as an equal. He feels safe here. For the first time in his life, aged 25, Dilan could finally live a full, unrestricted life. As soon as he arrived in Christchurch, he enrolled at ARA to continue his studies in Advanced English. He also found a permanent part time role straight away, as a mobile phone technician (he is also a fulltime student). And most importantly, he introduced himself to CEO of IAANZ. We got a simple text from the CEO (Jeremy Ford) after their meeting and in its brevity, he communicated that Dilan was a remarkable young man and that Air NZ would be stunned by his story thus far.
Dilan is a devout Christian and lives as he believes. As such, he is a very genteel and dignified young man who is softly spoken. He smiles readily, and his smile can light up a room. He immediately began working in a volunteer capacity at his adopted church here in Christchurch with cleaning and gardening as required. He took up a leadership role with the Young Eagles at Canterbury Aero Club, organising instructional days to help young people get to grips with the technical and inspirational side of aviation and being a pilot.
CAANZ allowed him to convert his 90 Recreational Aircraft flight hours towards his PPL.
As Dilan progressed through our assessment phase for a scholarship, he entered the mentoring programme we offer, and his mentor is Captain Arthur Gatland (Air NZ Sim Instructor). Arthur also organised for Dilan to fly up to Auckland and have 4 hours in the Air New Zealand B777 simulator.
We presented his story to his sponsor – David and the late Helen Meale – and within hours David came back with an emphatic yes to sponsoring Dilan.
After achieving high scores for each part of the assessment phase, John informed Dilan he had won a scholarship in June 2024, just a week before he started training at IAANZ.
Dilan loved his time training at IAANZ. True to form, he continued to self-improve and read countless books on aviation. He took on board, with genuine commitment, the idea of PIC MINDSET. He sought out Air New Zealand pilots to talk to, and his goal was not only to be a licensed pilot but to learn skills and knowledge from experienced aviators that can’t be learned from just theory studies.
In early 2025, Dilan passed his PPL and by December 2025, he had also passed his CPL, ATPL, MEIR, and CPL cross country flight test. Along the way he was impressing people with his likeable personality, work ethic and commitment to volunteer to do anything that needed doing around the place to make life easier for others.
Earlier this year, IAANZ invited Dilan to interview for C-Cat Instructor training and in June he started the course. Here, we pass over to Dilan to give us his latest update…
The past few months have been a significant milestone in my aviation journey, marking the transition from preparing for my first flying job to taking my first steps as a paid flight instructor.
I’ve been focused on completing the C-CAT course at IAANZ. It has been a challenging but incredibly rewarding experience, requiring dedication, preparation, and hard work. I’m delighted to share that I successfully passed my C-CAT flight test, achieving a major goal I’ve been working towards for a long time.
What makes this milestone even more special is what happened next. Just two days after my flight test, I dropped off my resume at IAANZ, and things moved forward much faster than I expected. Almost immediately, I was offered a position as a flight instructor, which was an incredible and unexpected way to begin the next chapter of my aviation career. I was especially grateful to hear the positive feedback I had received from both instructors and students throughout my training.
I officially started my new role on 19 October. Seeing students already appearing under my name in FlightLogger makes the whole experience feel even more real, and I’m excited to begin sharing my knowledge and passion for aviation with the next generation of pilots.
Looking back at my journey, from Sri Lanka, via Nauru and Australia, to becoming a New Zealand resident, to building hours, completing my ATPL theory exams and travelling around the South Island in search of opportunities, every step has played a part in getting me here. There have been challenges and moments of uncertainty along the way, but each experience has helped me grow and brought me closer to this goal.
I would like to extend a special thankyou to John and Melissa for their support, my mentors Arthur and Milton for their guidance, all my instructors and the staff at IAANZ for their encouragement, and, of course, my family for standing by me throughout this journey. I’m incredibly grateful for everyone who has played a part in helping me reach this milestone. I wouldn’t be where I am today without your support.
I’m excited to begin my career as a flight instructor, continue learning and growing within the industry, and help others pursue their own aviation dreams. This is only the beginning, and I’m looking forward to seeing where this next chapter takes me.
Here’s to new beginnings, new challenges, and the privilege of helping others take flight.
It goes without saying, but John and I are immensely proud of Dilan. His attitude, friendliness and desire to help others has truly paid off. We are proud to be a part of his successes and look forward to further career updates.
