Air India Flight 182

Air India Flight 182 was a Boeing 747 that exploded on June 23, 1985 while at an altitude of 31,000 feet (9500 m) above the Atlantic Ocean, south of Ireland; all 329 on board were killed, of whom 82 were children and 280 were Canadian citizens. The explosion caused by a bomb placed in checked baggage was the single largest terrorist attack before those of September 11, 2001, and the largest mass murder in Canadian history. It occurred within an hour of the Narita Airport Bombing.

Incident timeline

On June 20, 1985, at 0100 GMT, a man calling himself Mr. Singh made reservations for two flights on June 22: one for "Jaswand Singh" to fly from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Montreal on Canadian Pacific Air Lines (CP) 086, and one for "Mohinderbel Singh" to fly from Vancouver to Tokyo on CP 003, and to there connect with Air India flight 301 to Bangkok.

Related Topics:
June 20 - 1985 - GMT - Vancouver, British Columbia - Canadian Pacific Air Lines - Tokyo - Air India - 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, Ontario). The caller also requested to be wait-listed on Air India 181/182 from Toronto to Delhi.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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 June 22, 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 alternate arrangements, which he declined.

Related Topics:
June 22 - 1985

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Air India 182 bomb

At 1550 GMT on June 22, "Mr. Singh" checked in at Vancouver Airport for CP Air Flight 60 to Toronto. He was assigned seat 10B. Singh requested that his suitcase, a dark brown, hard-sided Samsonite suitcase, be transferred to Flight 182. CP Agent Jeannie Adams initially refused his request to inter-line the baggage, since his seat from Toronto to Delhi was unconfirmed, but later relented http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2003/05/05/airindia050503.

Related Topics:
Vancouver Airport - CP Air - Samsonite

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

At 1618 GMT, the CP Air flight to Toronto Airport departed without Mr. Singh.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

At 2022 GMT, CP Air Flight 60 arrived in Toronto 12 minutes late. Some of the passengers and baggage, including the bag Mr. Singh checked in, were transferred to the Air India flight. Other passengers and baggage from Air Canada Flight 136, which also came from Vancouver, were handled as well.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

At 0015 GMT (now June 23), Flight 181 departed Toronto for Montreal-Mirabel 1 hour and 40 minutes late. The aircraft was late as a "5th pod,” a spare engine, was installed below the left wing. The defective engine was being flown to India for repairs. It arrived at Mirabel at 0100 GMT. In Montreal, the Air India flight became Flight 182.

Related Topics:
June 23 - Montreal-Mirabel - 5th pod

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

At 0715 GMT, Air India Flight 182, which had departed Mirabel bound for London, disappeared. Air traffic controllers at Shannon International Airport in Shannon, Ireland heard a crackling sound on the radio before the plane vanished. The plane was supposed to arrive at 0815 GMT.

Related Topics:
Shannon International Airport - Shannon - Ireland

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A bomb located in the forward cargo hold had exploded while the plane was in mid-flight at 31,000 ft. The bomb caused rapid decompression, and consequent in-flight breakup. The wreckage settled in 2000 m deep water off the south-west Irish coast 180 miles offshore of County Cork.

Related Topics:
Irish - County Cork

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The bombing killed 22 flight crew and 307 passengers, including 82 minors and numerous Sikhs. According the County Cork Coroner’s report some of the deceased had survived the explosion and the fall but drowned in the Atlantic Ocean.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

But for the one hour and forty minute delay in leaving Toronto, Air India 181 would have been at London's Heathrow airport at the time of the explosion; with an outcome similar to that of the Narita bomb which had exploded fifty five minutes earlier.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Narita Airport bomb