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
Aircraft
Aircraft typeLockheed L-1011-100 TriStar 100 (FAA - L-1011-385-1-15)
Aircraft nameCity of Colombo
OperatorAir Lanka
Registration4R-ULD
Flight originLondon-Gatwick Airport
1st stopoverZurich Airport
2nd stopoverDubai International Airport
Last stopoverBandaranaike International Airport (CMB/VCBI) 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 operating the flight 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.[1]

Boarding of the flight had been delayed due to the aircraft being damaged during cargo / baggage loading.[2] During boarding, a bomb, hidden in the aircraft's 'Fly Away Kit' (a collection of small spare parts[3]), exploded.[4] 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.[1][5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "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. ↑ "Accident description". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  5. ↑ "Commercial Airline Bombing History". aerospaceweb.org. Retrieved 10 September 2014.

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