Smith AAR AI 182 John Barry Smith www.corazon.com
[email protected] Copyright 2001 All Rights Reserved AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT REPORT Air India Flight 182 1 Smith AAR AI 182 Report on the Accident to Boeing 747-237B VT-EFO, Air India Flight 182, Off Cork, Ireland on 23 June 1985 by John Barry Smith, Independent Aircraft Accident Investigator Abstract: Air India Flight 182, a Boeing 747-237B, registration VT-EFO, was on a flight from Mirabel airport, Montreal, Canada, to Heathrow airport, London, UK, when it disappeared from the radar scope at a position of latitude 51 degrees 0 minutes North and longitude 12 degrees 50 minutes West at 0714 Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), 23 June 1985, and the pieces crashed into the ocean about 110 miles west of Cork, Ireland. There were no survivors among the 329 passengers and crew members. There was unanimous official opinion among authorities that an inflight breakup caused by an explosion in the forward cargo compartment occurred. Based on the direct, tangible and circumstantial evidence of four similar accidents as described in six aircraft accident reports and using the benefit of hindsight, the conclusion of this investigator and author of this report is that the probable cause of the accident to Air India Flight 182 was faulty wiring shorting on the door unlatch motor causing the forward cargo door to inadvertently rupture open in flight probably at one or both of the midspan latches leading to an explosion of explosive decompression in the forward cargo compartment and subsequent aircraft breakup. Contents: 1. Air India Flight 182 Glossary Acronyms References and Source Materials Definitions Formatting Style Introduction 2.