SkyNet - Special Report

Date: June 23th, 1985
Type: 747-237B
Registration: VT-EFO
Operator: Air India
Where: Atlantic Ocean, Irish Coast
Report No.: Not Available
Report Date: -
Pages: -

This is not an accident investigation report.

Air India Flight 182 departed from Montreal, Canada; with calculated flight time of 6 1/4 hours this gave and estimated arrival time of 08.33hrs at Heathrow Airport, London. There were 307 passengers on board with a complement of 22 crew including Captain Hanse Singh Narendra, in command; co-pilot Satninder Singh Bhinder, also rank of Captain; Dara Dumasia the flight engineer; nineteen flight attendants under the charge of Sampath Lazer.

The aircraft followed the North Atlantic Track crusing a Mach number 0.81. As the flight neared the Irish Coast contact was made with Shannon air traffic control at 07.05 hrs GMT, relaying its position.

Extracts from the CVR recorded conversation on the flight deck:

Time 07.08 hrs

Captain Bhinder (co-pilot): "Air-India 182, good morning"

Shannon Control: "Air-India 182, good morning. Squawk two zero zero five, and go 
		ahead please."

Captain Bhinder: "Three zero zero five squawking, and air-India is five one north
            one five west at zero seven zero five, level three one zero,
		estimate FIR five one northe zero eight weat at zero seven three
		five, and Bunty next"

Shannon Control: "Air-India, Shannon, Roger. Cleared London via five one north zero 
		eight west, Bunty, upper blue 40 to Merley, upper red 37 to 
		Lbsley, flight level three one zero."

Captain Bhinder: "Roger, cleared London via five one north zero eight west, 
		Bunty, upper blue 40 to Merley, upper red 37 to Lbsley, 
		flight level three one zero."

Shannon Control: (corrected and confirmed squawk of 2005)


Captain Bhinder: "Right, Sir. Squawking two zero zero five, 182."

Time 07.10 hrs

Controllers at Shannon air Traffic Control Centre had been monitoring the flight path along with other aircraft in the area. at 07.14 hrs GMT Flight 182 disappeared from their radar screens. No mayday call was received.

An emergency was declared at 07.30 hrs GMT with a search operation mounted. At 09.13 hrs wreakage was spotted in the sea, all 329 people on board had lost their lives. A number of specialist salvage vessels were dispatched to the crash site. One hundred and thirty one victims were brought ashore, the search for the CVR and FDR Black Boxes continued in the ocean which at that point is 6,700 ft deep, on 9th and 10th of July 1985 respectively, the boxes were located and recovered.

Analysis of the data revealed that there had been a sudden loss of electrical power at 31,000 ft over the Atlantic Ocean at 50 Degrees North, 15 Degrees West.

Efforts to recover parts of the destroyed airliner continued. Wreckage was found over a 5 mile area. A detailed map of the wreckage was plotted. Using a mini-sub, the Scarab over 20 important pieces of wreckage were recovered. Analysis of the debris indicated that buckled seat legs, scorch marks under the seats and deformation of a cabin floor section supported the theory that a bomb had caused the aircraft to crash.

A report was released by the Canadian Air Safety Board at the end of January 1996 it stated:

"There is considerable circumstantial and other evidence to indicate
that the initial event was an explosion occurring in the forward 
cargo compartment. This evidence is not conclusive. However, the 
evidence does not support any other conclusion"

The Indian enquiry into the crash of Air India flight VT-EFO commenced in November 1985 presided over by Judge Bhupinder Kirpal. The report published in 1986 officially attributed the Air-India break up to a bomb.

Planned route to London, Heathrow

Link to: Air India Flight 182 Accident Report Canada and India, full report scanned in.

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