Air India Flight 182

Air India Flight 182 was an Air India flight operating on the Toronto-Montréal-London-Delhi-Bombay route. On 23 June 1985 the Boeing 747-237B 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 (9500 m) and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. While some passengers survived the explosion and catastrophic decompression, survivors quickly succumbed to the frigid North Atlantic waters. In all, 329 people perished, among them 280 Canadians and 22 Indian nationals.[1] 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[2] that an 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).[3] Canada's Sikh community has put a great deal of pressure on successive Canadian governments to prevent a public enquiry from taking place. However, the Conservative Harper government, under less pressure from the Sikh community than the Liberal Party of Canada, launched a Commission of Enquiry in 2006.[5] Air India Flight 182 was the highest death toll of any aviation accident in Atlantic Ocean and the highest death toll of any aviation accident involving a Boeing 747-200 ever.

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. Hanse Singh Narendra served as the Captain,[4] and Capt Satwinder Singh Bhinder served as the First Officer[5]; Dara Dumasia served as Flight Engineer[6]. Many of the passengers were traveling to visit families and friends.[7] At 07:14:01 GMT The Boeing 747-237B, "squawked 2005"[8] (a routine activation of its aviation transponder), disappeared, and the aircraft started to disintegrate in mid-air. No 'mayday' call was received by Shannon, Air Traffic Control (ATC). Control 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 navy 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.