In the late 1980s, India was witnessing a tumultuous period of political instability, marked by multiple terrorist attacks and assassination attempts. Amidst this chaos, Air India – the national carrier of India – became a target of a botched assassination attempt. Today, we delve into the archives of Hindustan Times to revisit the tragic incident that claimed the lives of over 120 passengers and crew members on board Air India Flight 182 on June 23, 1985. This article sheds light on the events that led to the unfortunate crash and the aftermath of one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in Indian aviation history.
On April 11, 1955, an Air India International flight chartered by the Chinese government crashed into the South China Sea north of Sarawak. The Lockheed Constellation aircraft was bound for the Asian-African Conference in Bandung, Jakarta, carrying 11 passengers, including Chinese premier Zhou Enlai. The Kuomintang, the nationalist party that later became the ruling party of Taiwan, orchestrated a botched assassination attempt on Zhou, who was expected to be on board. The incident claimed the lives of 11 passengers and four members of the crew, while three crew members survived the crash.
The aircraft, named Kashmir Princess, was expected to fly Zhou Enlai to the conference, the first international gathering of Asian and African nations seeking independence from colonial powers. It is unclear why Zhou missed the flight, although subsequent reports suggest that he was informed of the assassination plot and decided not to fly. Jakarta Radio reported that the Constellation was carrying an advance guard of eight minor Chinese officials, two Polish journalists, and one North Vietnamese.
Kashmir Princess left Hong Kong on the afternoon of April 11 and sent three SOS signals shortly after. Its last position was near the Great Natuna Islands in the South China Sea, and search and rescue operations were launched from India, Hong Kong, and Indonesia. An RAF Sunderland flying boat searched for survivors near the Great Natuna Islands, and all ships in the area were told to keep a lookout. The rescuers ultimately saved three of the crew.
According to diplomatic records declassified by Beijing in 2004, a janitor at Hong Kong airport, who was a Kuomintang agent, planted a time bomb in the wheel bay of the Kashmir Princess. Investigations revealed that the bomb had been planted in the aircraft and that the janitor had escaped to Taiwan. The explosion set off a fire, causing the engines and equipment to fail, leaving the pilot with no option but to attempt an emergency sea landing that resulted in the aircraft crashing into the sea.
Steve Tsang of the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies wrote about the incident in 1994. Tsang said that Air India’s manager was probably told of the plan to sabotage in general terms. He also wrote, “After an uneventful five hours, the time bomb exploded. It started a fire which spread quickly and put the hydraulic system to the flaps and undercarriage out of action. The crew carried out emergency sea landing procedures, and the plane crashed into the sea 108 miles north of Kuching, Sarawak.”
An Air India statement revealed that the aircraft was piloted by Captain D K Jatar. Both Jatar and stewardess Gloria Eva Berry were posthumously awarded the Ashoka Chakra Award, India’s highest peacetime military award. The three crew members who survived the crash, first officer M.C. Dixit, ground maintenance engineer Anant Karnik, and navigator J.C. Pathak, were also awarded the Ashoka Chakra Award, making this the first instance where the award was given to civilians.
