The deadliest aviation terror attack in Canadian history

Countries & Cities · Published 12 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: On June 23, 1985, an Air India Boeing 747 exploded near the Irish coast. The blast killed all 329 people on board, including 268 Canadian citizens. This tragedy remains the deadliest aviation incident in Air India's history and the deadliest no-survivor hull loss for a Boeing 747.

The bombing was orchestrated by members of the Babbar Khalsa, a Sikh separatist group. The plot involved two bombs that began their journey from Vancouver International Airport on Canadian Pacific Air Lines flights. While one bomb was intended for Air India Flight 182 on the Montreal-London segment, a second suitcase bomb exploded prematurely at Tokyo's Narita International Airport, killing two baggage handlers. The explosives were originally checked onto flights from Vancouver. This second device was meant to target Air India Flight 301 on its Tokyo-Bangkok-Delhi route.

The investigation and subsequent legal battles spanned nearly twenty years and cost nearly C$130 million, making it the most expensive trial in Canadian history. Despite the scale of the tragedy, convictions were difficult to secure. Only Inderjit Singh Reyat, a dual British-Canadian national, was convicted; he pleaded guilty in 2003 to manslaughter and was sentenced to fifteen years for assembling the bombs. Other individuals accused of involvement, Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri, were ultimately acquitted. The legal proceedings were marked by significant financial costs and decades of litigation.

A 2010 commission of inquiry led by former Supreme Court Justice John C. Major investigated why the attack was not prevented. The investigation found that a "cascading series of errors" involving the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), and the Government of Canada permitted the attack. This was despite multiple warnings, including an RCMP informant's claim in June 1985 that militants were discussing plans to bomb an Air India flight. The inquiry's findings highlighted systemic failures within various intelligence and law enforcement agencies. These errors allowed the militant operation to proceed despite prior intelligence.

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