Air India Flight 182
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.
 The aircraft involved, VT-EFO, seen on 10 June 1985, less than two weeks before the bombing | |
| Bombing | |
|---|---|
| Date | 23 June 1985 |
| Summary | Aviation bombing |
| Site | Atlantic Ocean, 120mi (190km) WSW of Waterville, Ireland 51°3.6′N 12°49′W / 51.0600°N 12.817°W |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 747-237B (auxiliar engine) |
| Aircraft name | Emperor Kanishka |
| Operator | Air India |
| IATA flight No. | AI182 |
| ICAO flight No. | AIC182 |
| Call sign | AIRINDIA 182 |
| Registration | VT-EFO |
| Flight origin | Toronto (as Flight 181) Montréal-Mirabel Int'l Airport Mirabel, Quebec, Canada |
| 1st stopover | London Heathrow Airport London, United Kingdom |
| 2nd stopover | Indira Gandhi Int'l Airport New Delhi, India |
| Destination | Sahar International Airport Bombay, India |
| Passengers | 307 |
| Crew | 22 |
| Fatalities | 329 |
| Survivors | 0 |
Bombing change
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 change
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 change
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