Air India Flight 182 Memorial

Air India Flight 182 was a scheduled international flight from Toronto Pearson International Airport (as Air India Flight 181) to Mumbai’s Sahar International Airport with regular Mirabel-London-Delhi stops. On the morning of June 23, 1985, the Boeing 747 serving the Montreal-London segment exploded near the coast of Ireland from a bomb planted by Sikh terrorists from the Babbar Khalsa. All 329 people on board were killed including 268 Canadian citizens, 27 British citizens, and 22 Indian citizens. The bombing of Air India Flight 182 is the worst terrorist attack in Canadian history and was the world's deadliest act of aviation terrorism until the September 11 attacks in 2001. It remains the deadliest aviation incident in the history of Air India, and the deadliest no-survivor hull loss of a single Boeing 747. The perpetrators are believed to be Inderjit Singh Reyat, a dual British-Canadian national, who pleaded guilty in 2003, and Talwinder Singh Parmar, who was one of the key individuals associated with the Khalistani separatist group, Babbar Khalsa. The plot included a second bomb, intended to explode on the same day and murder the occupants of Air India Flight 301 serving the Tokyo-Bangkok-Delhi route. Instead, it killed two baggage handlers at Tokyo's Narita International Airport when the bomb suitcase was being transferred from the original Canadian airplane to the Air India 747; fragments from this bomb proved Reyat's involvement. The two bombs had started their journey when checked onto a pair of Canadian Pacific Air Lines flights from Vancouver International Airport, one headed to Tokyo – for connection with Air India Flight 301, and one to Montreal – for connection with Air India Flight 182. The plan's execution had transnational consequences and involved citizens and governments from five nation states.