Air India Flight 182

Air India Flight 182
The aircraft involved, VT-EFO, seen landing at London Heathrow Airport on 10 June 1985, less than two weeks before the incident
Bombing
Date23 June 1985 (1985-06-23)
SummaryIn-flight breakup due to terrorist bombing by the Babbar Khalsa
SiteAtlantic Ocean,
190 km (120 mi) WSW of Waterville, Ireland
51°4′N 12°49′W / 51.067°N 12.817°W / 51.067; -12.817
Aircraft
Aircraft typeBoeing 747-237B
Aircraft nameEmperor Kanishka
OperatorAir India
IATA flight No.AI182
ICAO flight No.AIC182
Call signAIR INDIA 182
RegistrationVT-EFO
Flight originToronto Pearson International Airport (as Flight 181) Montréal-Mirabel Int'l Airport,
Mirabel, Quebec, Canada
1st stopoverLondon Heathrow Airport,
London, United Kingdom
2nd stopoverPalam International Airport,
Delhi, India
DestinationSahar International Airport,
Bombay, India
Occupants329
Passengers307
Crew22
Fatalities329
Survivors0

Air India Flight 182 was a passenger flight operating on the MontrealLondonDelhiMumbai route, that on 23 June 1985, disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean as a result of an explosion from a bomb planted by Canadian Sikh terrorists.[1][2][3] It was operated using a Boeing 747-237B registered VT-EFO. The incident happened en route from Montreal to London at an altitude of 31,000 feet (9,400 m). The remnants of the aircraft fell into the sea approximately 190 kilometres (120 miles) off the coast of Ireland, killing all 329 people on board, including 268 Canadian citizens, 27 British citizens, and 24 Indian citizens.[4] The bombing of Air India Flight 182 is the worst terrorist attack in Canadian history, the deadliest aviation incident in the history of Air India and was the world's deadliest act of aviation terrorism until the September 11 attacks in 2001.[1][5][6] The mastermind behind the bombing was believed to be Inderjit Singh Reyat, a dual British-Canadian national, who pleaded guilty in 2003[7][8] and Talwinder Singh Parmar, a Canadian Sikh separatist leader, who was one of the key individuals associated with the militant group Babbar Khalsa.[9]

The plan's execution had transnational consequences and involved citizens and governments from five nation states. Babbar Khalsa, a Sikh terrorist and Khalistani separatist group, was implicated in the bombing.[10] Although a handful of people were arrested and tried for the Air India bombing, the only person convicted was Inderjit Singh Reyat, who pleaded guilty in 2003 to manslaughter.[11][12] He was sentenced to fifteen years in prison for assembling the bombs that exploded on board Air India Flight 182 and at Narita.[13][14]

The subsequent investigation and prosecution lasted almost twenty years. This was the most expensive trial in Canadian history, costing nearly C$130 million. The two accused, Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri, were both acquitted and found not guilty.

The Governor General-in-Council in 2006 appointed the former Supreme Court Justice John C. Major to conduct a commission of inquiry. His report, which was completed and released on 17 June 2010, concluded that a "cascading series of errors" by the Government of Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) had allowed the terrorist attack to take place.[15]

  1. ^ a b Bell, Stewart (2014). "Leadership and the Toronto 18". In Bruce Hoffman; Fernando Reinares (eds.). The Evolution of the Global Terrorist Threat: From 9/11 to Osama bin Laden's Death. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 144. ISBN 978-0-231-16898-4.
  2. ^ Additional references:
  3. ^
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference The Victims was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Goldman, Zachary K.; Rascoff, Samuel J. (2016). Global Intelligence Oversight: Governing Security in the Twenty-First Century. Oxford University Press. p. 177. ISBN 978-0190458089.
  6. ^ "Man Convicted for 1985 Air India Bombing Now Free". Time. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  7. ^ "Inderjit Singh Reyat, only person convicted in Air India bombing, released from halfway house – BC". GlobalNews.ca. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  8. ^ "Canada sets free 1985 Air India flight Kanishka bomber Inderjit Singh Reyat". India Today. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  9. ^ "Men acquitted in Air India bombings". www.nbcnews.com. 16 March 2005. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  10. ^ Roach, Kent (2011). "The Air India Report and the Regulation of Charities and Terrorism Financing". The University of Toronto Law Journal. 61 (1): 46. doi:10.3138/utlj.61.1.045. ISSN 0042-0220. JSTOR 23018688.
  11. ^ Bolan, Kim (9 February 2008). "Air India bombmaker sent to holding centre". Ottawa Citizen. Archived from the original on 9 November 2012. Retrieved 31 May 2009.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference dowd was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ "Convicted Air India bomb-builder Inderjit Singh Reyat gets bail". CBC News. 9 July 2008. Archived from the original on 10 July 2008. Retrieved 10 June 2009.
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference Inquiry completed was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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