Air India Flight 182 — 1985 bombing of an Air India Boeing 747-237B over the Atlantic Ocean near Ireland
The 1985 Air India bombing killed 329 people, making it Canada's worst terrorist attack and the deadliest aviation terrorism act before 9/11.
Key Facts
- Total killed
- 329 people
- Canadian victims
- 268 citizens
- Trial cost
- ~130 million CAD
- Only conviction
- Inderjit Singh Reyat, manslaughter, 2003
- Commission report released
- 17 June 2010
- Narita airport deaths
- 2 baggage handlers killed by second bomb
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Sikh separatists affiliated with Babbar Khalsa, seeking an independent Khalistan, plotted a coordinated dual bombing of Air India flights departing Canada. Inderjit Singh Reyat assembled the bombs, which were checked onto Canadian Pacific Air Lines flights from Vancouver — one bound for Tokyo to connect with Air India Flight 301, and one for Montreal to connect with Air India Flight 182.
On June 23, 1985, a bomb detonated aboard Air India Flight 182's Boeing 747-237B over the Atlantic Ocean near the Irish coast, killing all 329 people on board. Hours earlier, a second bomb exploded at Tokyo's Narita International Airport, killing two baggage handlers as luggage was transferred to Air India Flight 301, confirming the coordinated nature of the attack.
The subsequent Canadian investigation and prosecution lasted nearly twenty years and cost approximately C$130 million, making it the most expensive trial in Canadian history. Only Reyat was convicted, receiving a fifteen-year sentence. A 2010 commission of inquiry headed by Justice John C. Major concluded that a cascading series of errors by Canadian federal agencies allowed the attack to occur.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Talwinder Singh Parmar, Inderjit Singh Reyat.
Side B
1 belligerent