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Air Lanka Flight 512

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1986 aircraft bombing

Air Lanka Flight 512
4R-ULD, the aircraft involved, seen at Paris–Le Bourget Airport in November 1983
Bombing
Date3 May 1986 (1986-05-03)
SummaryBombing
SiteBandaranaike International Airport
7°10′52″N 79°51′58″E / 7.18111°N 79.86611°E / 7.18111; 79.86611
Aircraft
Aircraft typeLockheed L-1011-100 TriStar 100
Aircraft nameCity of Colombo
OperatorAir Lanka
Registration4R-ULD
Flight originLondon-Gatwick Airport
1st stopoverZurich Airport
2nd stopoverDubai International Airport
Last stopoverBandaranaike International Airport, Colombo, Sri Lanka
DestinationMale' International Airport
Occupants148
Passengers128
Crew20
Fatalities21
Injuries41
Survivors127

Air Lanka Flight 512 was an Air Lanka (now SriLankan Airlines) flight from London Gatwick Airport via Zurich and Dubai to Colombo (Bandaranaike International Airport) and Malé, Maldives (Velana International Airport). On 3 May 1986, the Lockheed L-1011 Tristar operated by Air Lanka was on the ground in Colombo, about to fly on to Malé, when an explosion ripped the aircraft in two, destroying it. The flight carried mainly French, West German, British and Japanese tourists; 21 people were killed on the aircraft, including 3 British, 2 West German, 3 French, 2 Japanese, 2 Maldivian, and 1 Pakistani. 41 people were injured.

Boarding of the flight had been delayed due to the aircraft being damaged during cargo / baggage loading. During boarding, a bomb, hidden in the aircraft's 'Fly Away Kit' (a collection of small spare parts), exploded. The bomb had been timed to detonate mid-flight; the delay likely saved many lives.

The Sri Lankan government concluded that the bomb was planted by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to sabotage peace talks between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government. They reported that a search of the aircraft the next day uncovered a parcel containing uniforms with the insignia of the Black Tigers, the suicide wing of LTTE.

See also

References

  1. ^ "1986: Bomb kills 21 in Sri Lanka". BBC. 3 May 1986. Retrieved 30 April 2008.
  2. A joke common among international travelers at the time was that AirLanka's IATA code, UL, stood for "usually late".
  3. "IR Fly Away Kit?" Airliners.net; accessed 2017.04.27.
  4. "Unlawful Interference Lockheed L-1011 TriStar 100 4R-ULD, Saturday 3 May 1986". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  5. "Commercial Airline Bombing History". aerospaceweb.org. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
Aviation accidents and incidents in 1986 (1986)
Jan 18 Aerovías Caravelle crashJan 28 VASP Flight 210Feb 16 China Airlines Flight 2265Mar 2 Aeroflot Flight F-77Mar 31 Mexicana de Aviación Flight 940Apr 2 TWA Flight 840Apr 5 Ljósufjöll air crashApr 17 Hindawi affairMay 3 Air Lanka Flight 512May 3 China Airlines Flight 334Jun 18 Grand Canyon National Park collisionJul 2 Aeroflot Flight 2306Aug 3 LIAT Flight 319Aug 16 Sudan Airways Fokker F-27 shootdownAug 31 Aeroméxico Flight 498Sep 5 Pan Am Flight 73Oct 5 Corporate Air Services HPF821Oct 19 Mozambican Tupolev Tu-134 crashOct 20 Aeroflot Flight 6502Oct 26 Thai Airways International Flight 620Nov 6 British Int'l Helicopters Chinook crashNov 17 Japan Air Lines Cargo Flight 1628Dec 12 Aeroflot Flight 892Dec 25 Iraqi Airways Flight 163
1985   ◄    ►   1987
Aviation accidents and incidents in Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan civil war (1983–2009)
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↓Four Four Bravo↓Black July↓Air Lanka Flight 512↓Indo-Sri Lanka Accord↓JVP insurrection↓Maldives coup d'état attempt↓Police massacre↓Expulsion of Muslims↓Rajiv Gandhi Assassination↓Ranasinghe Premadasa Assassination↓Central Bank bombing↓Dehiwala train bombing↓WTC bombing↓Temple of the Tooth attack↓Lionair Flight 602↓Chandrika Kumaratunga assassination attempt↓Bandaranaike Airport attack↓Colombo Suicide air raid↓Death of PrabhakaranEelam War IIndian interventionEelam War IICease FireEelam War IIICease FireEelam War IVSri Lankan President: JayewardenePremadasaWijetungaKumaratungaRajapaksaArmy: WeeratungaSeneviratneWanasingheWaidyaratneDe SilvaDaluwatteWeerasooriyaBalagalleKottegodaFonsekaLTTE leader: PrabhakaranPathmanathan│1983│1984│1985│1986│1987│1988│1989│1990│1991│1992│1993│1994│1995│1996│1997│1998│1999│2000│2001│2002│2003│2004│2005│2006│2007│2008│2009
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