Air Lanka Flight 512

Air Lanka Flight 512

4R-ULD at Paris–Le Bourget Airport in 1983
Incident summary
Date	3 May 1986 (1986-05-03)
Summary	Terrorist bomb
Site	Bandaranaike International Airport
Passengers	128
Crew	20
Injuries (non-fatal)	41
Fatalities	21
Survivors	129
Aircraft type	Lockheed L-1011-100 TriStar 100 (FAA - L-1011-385-1-15)
Aircraft name	City of Colombo
Operator	Air Lanka
Registration	4R-ULD
Flight origin	London-Gatwick Airport
1st stopover	Zurich Airport
2nd stopover	Dubai International Airport
Last stopover	Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB/VCBI) Colombo, Sri Lanka
Destination	Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (MLE/VRMM), Malé, Maldives

Air Lanka Flight 512 was an Air Lanka flight from London Gatwick Airport via Zurich and Dubai to Colombo (Bandaranaike International Airport) and Malé, Maldives. On 3 May 1986, the Lockheed L-1011 Tristar was on the ground in Colombo, about to fly on to Malé, when an explosion ripped the aircraft in two, destroying it. Flight 512 carried mainly French, West German, British and Japanese tourists; 21 people were killed on the aircraft, including three British, 2 West German, 3 French, 2 Japanese, two Maldivians and one 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', 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.