Air India Flight 182

1985 bombing of an Air India Boeing 747-237B over the Atlantic Ocean near Ireland

Air India Flight 182 was a passenger plane which, on June 23, 1985, exploded from a bomb that was placed on the plane. The aircraft was going between Montréal-Mirabel International Airport, Montreal, Quebec, and New Delhi, India. It was an Air India Boeing 747-237B, registration VT-EFO. The bombing was called the largest mass murder in modern Canadian history, and the deadliest act of air terrorism before 9/11.

Air India Flight 182
The aircraft involved, VT-EFO, seen on 10 June 1985, less than two weeks before the bombing
Bombing
Date23 June 1985 (1985-06-23)
SummaryAviation bombing
SiteAtlantic Ocean,
120mi (190km) WSW of Waterville, Ireland
51°3.6′N 12°49′W / 51.0600°N 12.817°W / 51.0600; -12.817
Aircraft
Aircraft typeBoeing 747-237B (auxiliar engine)
Aircraft nameEmperor Kanishka
OperatorAir India
IATA flight No.AI182
ICAO flight No.AIC182
Call signAIRINDIA 182
RegistrationVT-EFO
Flight originToronto (as Flight 181) Montréal-Mirabel Int'l Airport
Mirabel, Quebec, Canada
1st stopoverLondon Heathrow Airport
London, United Kingdom
2nd stopoverIndira Gandhi Int'l Airport
New Delhi, India
DestinationSahar International Airport
Bombay, India
Passengers307
Crew22
Fatalities329
Survivors0

Bombing

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The flight was going between Montreal and New Delhi. The plane exploded when it was flying 31,000 feet over Atlantic Ocean South of Ireland. The bomb was hidden in a Sanyo tuner in a suitcase which was in the forward cargo hold. Around fifty-five minutes later after the loss of the aircraft, a suitcase which was checked in by one of the accused perpetrators in the bombing exploded at Japan’s Narita Airport and killed two baggage handlers and injured four other people nearby. The suitcase was on its way to another airliner at Narita. At least 329 people were killed in the explosion aboard Flight 182.

Passengers

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Most of the victims on-board were Canadians, but 27 came from the United Kingdom, and 10 more came from the United States, five from Brazil, four from Germany, three from France, two each from Italy and Australia, one each from Japan, Mexico, Russia, China, and Belgium. Four passengers and all 22 crew members were from India'

Nationality Passengers Crew Total
  Canada 268 0 268
  United Kingdom 27 0 27
  United States 10 0 10
  Brazil 5 0 5
  Germany 4 0 4
  France 3 0 3
  India 4 22 26
  Italy 2 0 2
  Australia 2 0 2
  Japan 1 0 1
  Mexico 1 0 1
  Russia 1 0 1
  China 1 0 1
  Belgium 1 0 1
Total 307 22 329

Suspects

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The suspects in the bombing were from the Sikh separatist group called the Babbar Khalsa:

  • Talwinder Singh Parmar
  • Inderjit Singh Reyat
  • Ripudaman Singh Malik
  • Ajaib Singh Bagri
  • Surjan Singh Gill
  • Hardial Singh Johal and Manmohan Singh
  • Daljit Sandhu
  • Lakhbir Singh Brar Rode