Air India Flight 182 was an Air India flight operating on the Montréal-London-Delhi-Bombay route. On 23 June 1985, the airplane operating on the route was blown up in midair by a bomb in Irish airspace in the single deadliest terrorist attack involving an aircraft to that date. The incident represents the largest mass murder in modern Canadian history. The explosion and downing of the carrier occurred within an hour of the related Narita Airport Bombing.
The plane, a Boeing 747-237B (c/n 21473/330, reg VT-EFO) named Emperor Kanishka , exploded at an altitude of 31,000 feet (9,400 m) and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. While some passengers survived the initial explosion and subsequent decompression, none survived the impact. In all, 329 people perished, among them 280 Canadians and 22 Indian nationals.
Investigation and prosecution took almost 20 years and was the most expensive trial in Canadian history, costing nearly CAD $130 million. A special Commission found the accused perpetrators not guilty and they were released. The only person convicted of involvement in the bombing was Inderjit Singh Reyat, who pleaded guilty in 2003 to manslaughter in constructing the bomb used on Flight 182 and received a five-year sentence. He was refused parole in July 2007.
In September 2007, the Commission investigated reports, initially disclosed in the Indian investigative news magazine Tehelka that a hitherto unnamed person, Lakhbir Singh Brar Rode, had masterminded the explosions. This report appears to be inconsistent with other evidence known to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
The Canadian government launched a Commission of Inquiry in 2006.
Pre-incident timeline
The Boeing 747-237B Emperor Kanishka flew Toronto–Montréal as AI181 and Montréal–London–Delhi–Bombay as AI182 . It was delivered to Air India on 29 June 1978.
On 20 June 1985, at 0100 GMT, a man calling himself Mr Singh made reservations for two flights on 22 June: one for Jaswand Singh to fly from Vancouver to Toronto on Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 086 , and one for "Mohinderbel Singh" to fly from Vancouver to Tokyo on Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 003 , and connect onward on Air India Flight 301 to Bangkok.
At 0220 GMT on the same day, another call was made, changing the reservation in the name of Jaswand Singh from CP 086 to CP 060 (flying from Vancouver to Toronto). The caller also asked to be wait-listed on AI 181 from Toronto to Montréal and AI 182 from Montréal to Bombay.
At 1910 GMT, a man paid for the two tickets with $3,005 in cash at a CP ticket office in Vancouver. The names on the reservations were changed: Jaswand Singh became M Singh and Mohinderbel Singh became L Singh .
On 22 June 1985, at 1330 GMT, a man calling himself Manjit Singh called to confirm his reservations on Air India flight 181/182. He was told he was still wait-listed, and was offered alternative arrangements, which he declined.
Day of the bombing
Air India Flight 182 departed from Montréal for London, en route to Delhi and Bombay. 329 people were on board; 307 passengers and 22 crew. Capt. Hanse Singh Narendra served as the Commander, and Capt. Satinder Singh Bhinder served as the First Officer; Dara Dumasia served as Flight Engineer. Many of the passengers were traveling to visit families and friends.
At 07:14:01 GMT, the Boeing 747, "squawked 2005" (a routine activation of its aviation transponder), disappeared, and the aircraft started to disintegrate in mid-air. No 'mayday' call was received by Shannon International Airport Air Traffic Control (ATC). ATC asked aircraft in the area to try to contact Air India, but to no avail. By 07:30:00 GMT hrs ATC declared an emergency and requested nearby cargo ships and the Irish Naval Service vessel LÉ Aisling to look out for the aircraft.
By 09:13:00hrs GMT, the cargo ship Laurentian Forest had discovered the wreckage of the aircraft and many bodies floating in the water. Fifty-five minutes after the loss of the aircraft, a suitcase checked in by one of the accused perpetrators exploded at Japan’s Narita Airport, killing two baggage handlers and injuring four other individuals nearby. The suitcase was on its way to another airliner at Narita.
Nationalities
Air India 182 bomb
At 15:50 GMT on 22 June, Singh checked in at Vancouver International Airport for Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 60 to Toronto and was assigned seat 10B. He asked that his suitcase, a dark brown, hard-sided Samsonite suitcase, be transferred to Air India Flight 181 and then to Flight 182 . A Canadian Pacific Air Lines agent initially refused his request to inter-line the baggage, since his seat from Toronto to Montréal and Montréal to Bombay was unconfirmed, but later relented.
At 16:18 GMT, the Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 60 to Toronto Pearson International Airport departed without Mr. Singh.
At 20:22 GMT, Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 60 arrived in Toronto twelve minutes late. Some of the passengers and baggage, including the bag Mr Singh had checked in, were transferred to Air India Flight 181.
At 00:15 GMT (now 23 June), Air India Flight 181 departed Toronto Pearson International Airport for Montréal-Mirabel International Airport 1 hour and 40 minutes late. The aircraft was late because a "fifth pod", a spare engine, was installed below the left wing to be flown to India for repairs. The plane arrived in Montréal-Mirabel International Airport at 01:00 GMT. At Montréal, the Air India flight became Flight 182 .
At 07:15 GMT, Air India Flight 182, which had departed Montréal-Mirabel International Airport bound for London Heathrow Airport, disappeared. Air traffic controllers at the Shanwick Oceanic Control Center near Shannon International Airport heard a crackling sound on the radio before the plane vanished. The plane was due to arrive at 08:15 GMT.
A bomb in the forward cargo hold had exploded while the plane was in mid-flight at 31,000 feet at 51°3.6′N 12°49′W / 51.06°N 12.817°W / 51.06; -12.817 Coordinates: 51°3.6′N 12°49′W / 51.06°N 12.817°W / 51.06; -12.817 . The bomb caused rapid decompression and consequent in-flight breakup. The wreckage settled in 6,700 feet (2,000 m) deep water off the south-west Irish coast 120 miles (190 km) offshore of County Cork.
If the one hour and forty minute delay in leaving Toronto Pearson International Airport had not happened, Air India Flight 182 might have been at London Heathrow Airport at the time of the explosion, with an outcome similar to that of the Narita Airport bomb which had exploded fifty five minutes earlier.
Recovery
The bomb killed all 22 crew and 307 passengers including 84 children (aged 12 and under), and 51 youth (aged 13–17). Post-accident medical reports graphically illustrated the outcomes of the passengers and crew. Of the 329 persons on board, 131 bodies were recovered; 198 were lost at sea. The bodies recovered included 30 children. Eight bodies exhibited "flail pattern" injuries, indicating that they exited the aircraft before it had hit the water. This, in turn, was a sign that the airplane had broken up in mid-air. Twenty-six bodies, including twelve children, showed signs of hypoxia (lack of oxygen). Twenty-five bodies, mostly victims who were seated near windows, showed signs of explosive decompression. This included seven children. Twenty-three bodies had signs of "injuries from a vertical force". Twenty-one passengers were found with little or no clothing.
One official quoted in the report stated, "All victims have been stated in the PM reports to have died of multiple injuries. Two of the dead, one infant and one child, are reported to have died of asphyxia. There is no doubt about the asphyxial death of the infant. In the case of the other child (Body No 93) there was some doubt because the findings could also be caused due to the child undergoing tumbling or spinning with the anchor point at the ankles. Three other victims undoubtedly died of drowning."
The vessel Guardline Locator from the UK, with sophisticated sonar equipment aboard, and the French cable laying vessel the Léon Thévenin, with its robot submarine Scarab, were dispatched to locate the flight data recorder (FDR) and cockpit voice recorder (CVR) boxes. The boxes would be difficult to find and it was imperative the search was commenced quickly. By 4 July, the Guardline Locator equipment had detected signals on the sea bed and on 9 July the CVR was pin-pointed and raised to the surface by the Scarab. The next day the FDR was located and recovered.
Suspects
The main suspects