Vietnam Airlines Flight 840 was a scheduled flight from Saigon to Auckland via Sydney. On December 29th, 1984, the Vickers VC.10 Superb operating the flight with 200 passengers and 15 crew on board disappeared from radar while cruising at 35,000 feet (10,668 meters) over the Timor Sea.
The Royal Australian Navy immediately dispatched two Daring-class destroyers to the aircraft's last known location. The vessels recovered several pieces of wreckage, along with 22 bodies. The main wreckage was found on January 1st. Out of 215 passengers and crew, 195 bodies were recovered, all showing signs of decompression trauma.
Examination of the recovered wreckage revealed that an explosion had taken place in the plane's forward cargo hold. It was discovered that a man had checked a suitcase onto the flight, but did not board. Investigators determined that the man had actually smuggled a bomb onto the plane.
The Viet Cong claimed responsibility for the bombing. In response, the Vietnamese government launched an offensive that killed many high-ranking Viet Cong leaders. By 1986, the Viet Cong had finally been neutralized.
In response to the disaster, many airlines improved passenger-baggage reconciliation policies, requiring baggage to be removed from the plane before takeoff if the passenger that checked the baggage fails to arrive at the departure gate before the flight is closed.