Pan Am 103's casualties included 11 victims in the Scottish town of Lockerbie, who were struck by falling wreckage. 270 people were killed in the air and on the ground when Pan Am Flight 103 exploded over Lockerbie in 1988 (Image: Daily Record) Two police officers at nose cone of aeroplane that crashed in Lockerbie Its nice to come here, she explained. [151], There are several private and public memorials to the PA103 victims. The planes wings, along with tanks carrying 100 tons of jet fuel, plummeted into Lockerbies Sherwood Crescent neighborhood, creating an inferno and a crater more than 150 feet deep that registered miles away as a seismic event. [1] Large sections of the aircraft crashed in a residential street in Lockerbie, killing 11 residents. Libya said it had to accept responsibility due to Megrahi's status as a government employee.[4]. [132], Compensation for the families of the PA103 victims was among the steps set by the UN for lifting its sanctions against Libya. Although the students remained silent during the ceremony, many cried and hugged one another as the 35 minutes concluded. A Libyan intelligence official accused of making the bomb that brought down Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988 in an international act of terrorism has been taken into U.S . As always you can unsubscribe at any time. Another caller claimed the plane had been downed by Mossad, the Israeli intelligence service. Subsequent analysis of the radar returns by RSRE concluded that the aircraft was tracking 321 (grid) and travelling at a ground speed of 803km/h (499mph; 434kn). The victim assistance plan Turman and her team established for the trial would greatly inform the U.S. governments future policy toward victims of terrorism and other federal crimes. [61], Known as the Lockerbie bombing and the Lockerbie air disaster in the UK, it was described by Scotland's Lord Advocate as the UK's largest criminal inquiry led by the smallest police force in Britain, Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary.[62]. Both organizations share as much information as possible with the familiesanother lesson the FBI learned from the tragedy. The BBC's Scotland correspondent, Andrew Cassell, reported on the 10th anniversary of the bombing that the townspeople had "opened their homes and hearts" to the relatives, bearing their own losses "stoically and with enormous dignity", and that the bonds forged then continue to this day.[41]. U.S. Said to Be Near Charges for Another Suspect in 1988 Lockerbie Bombing. Taylor claimed that the PA 103 bomb could have been planted then.[72]. His survival beyond the approximate "three-month" prognosis generated some controversy. They were laid to rest in a single coffin in the West Wales village of Pendine, Carmarthenshire. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. In addition to the Remembrance Scholars, Syracuse hosts two Lockerbie Scholars each year from Scotland, a continuing reminder of the enduring bond between the university and the town. -- Here's a list of the 270 people killed 25 years ago today in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, on Dec. 21, 1988. People had gone through a lot of different life experiences since then, but almost everyone had an avid interest in the trial.. The couple then kept watch over him for 24 hours and even asked rescue teams if they could take him into their home, away from the biting cold. Act as a Spokesperson In case of an emergency, one person should take primary responsibility to speak on behalf of the entire organization to eliminate conflicting messages and to prevent the spread of misinformation. Hed taken off his jacket and removed his shoes, like he always did when he was travelling by plane. Some of the wreckage of Pan Am Flight 103 after it crashed onto the town of Lockerbie, Scotland, on December 21, 1988. The timer was allegedly traced through its Swiss manufacturer, Mebo, to the Libyan military, and Mebo employee Ulrich Lumpert identified the fragment at al-Megrahi's trial. Both of the accused chose not to give evidence in court. Lockerbie bombing suspect to make first court appearance on Monday in Washington. [160], The Women of Lockerbie (2003) is a play written by Deborah Brevoort which depicts a woman from New Jersey roaming the hills of Lockerbie, Scotland. Theres no other place we feel as connected to him as on the farm. Megrahi was found guilty of 270 counts of murder on 31 January 2001, and was sentenced to life imprisonment in Scotland; his co-defendant, Fhimah, was found not guilty. "[20]:16, The British Geological Survey 23 kilometres (14mi) away at Eskdalemuir registered a seismic event at 19:03:36 measuring 1.6 on the moment magnitude scale, which was attributed to the impact. When asked if Libya would therefore seek reimbursement of the compensation paid to the families of the victims (US$33billion in total), Saif Gaddafi replied: "I don't know". Following his release, Megrahi published evidence on the Internet that was gathered for the abandoned second appeal which he claimed would clear his name. In 2002 the suspects were handed over to the UN. Frank Granito of Speiser Krause noted that "the rewards in the US are more substantial than anywhere else in the world but nobody has questioned the fee whilst the work has been going on, it is only now as we approach a resolution when the criticism comes your way. UK ministers explained that it was for the Scottish Government to decide if it wants to hold its own, more limited, inquiry into the worst terrorist attack on British soil. When the fuel-laden wings and a section of the main body . A last treasured picture of Laurie Ciulla and her father Frank, who died in the Lockerbie disaster, Five of Frank's grandchildren at the fields where he was found, The grandchildren say they feel connected to Frank when they visit the place he was found, Farmer Hugh Connell discovered Frank six miles from Lockerbie still strapped to his seat, Police guard the wreckage of the Lockerbie Bombing in 1988, Jim Swire and John Mosey say they will fight for justice. Her team began contacting families and making flight reservations. This thing happened, and its our job to share it with other people in a meaningful way, she said. "[48][49], Muammar Gaddafi took responsibility for the Lockerbie bombing and paid compensation to the victims' families in 2003, though he maintained that he had not ordered the attack. The plane had reached a height of approximately 31,000 feet (9,500 metres) and was preparing for the oceanic portion of the flight when a timer-activated bomb detonated. We all laid roses at the tree Hugh and Margaret had planted at the spot where they found dad and went to see the memorial in the town. The emotional impact of handling all those personal itemsa 2-year-olds dress, wrapped Christmas presents, a pilots uniformis an experience that has stayed with them. This year marks the 30th anniversary. Five weeks before this warning, Jibril's right-hand man, Haffez Dalkamoni, had been arrested in Frankfurt with a known bomb-maker, Marwen Khreesat. Laurie says: Wed talked about the trip for a long time but mum has suffered some health problems so we wanted to wait until she was well. Falling wreckage destroyed 21 houses and killed an additional 11 people on the ground. [154], Syracuse University holds a memorial week every year called "Remembrance Week" to commemorate its 35 lost students. As pieces of the aircraft hit the ground, some exploded. An official website of the United States government. 1 The disputed territory of Western Sahara is mostly occupied and administered by Morocco; the Polisario Front claims the territory in militating for the establishment an independ [60] Bollier claimed that in 1991 he had declined an offer of $4million from the FBI (equivalent to $7.2 million in 2021 dollars) in exchange for his support of the main line of inquiry, though this claim has never been verified. At this point, the Clipper Maid of the Seas was flying at 31,000 feet (9,400m) on a heading of 316 magnetic, and at a speed of 313kn (580km/h; 360mph) calibrated airspeed. [55], The initial investigation into the crash site by Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary involved many helicopter surveys, satellite imaging, and a search of the area by police and soldiers. Some of the 196 bodies found so far did contain shrapnel, he said. He credits the Scots thoroughness and professionalism, under extreme circumstances, with finding critical evidencepieces of the suitcase containing the bomb, fragments of a circuit board, bits of clothing traced to a Malta businessthat led to the Libyan intelligence officers. For many, including 35 students from Syracuse University who had been studying abroad, it was a much-anticipated homecoming, a reunion with family and friends in time for the holidays. [98] In December 2022, the United States government obtained custody of 71-year-old Mas'ud. The night of the disaster, Smith was at home with his father in Sherwood Crescent, settled in for what was supposed to be a quiet evening. Pan Am 103 originated as a feeder flight at Frankfurt Airport, West Germany, using a Boeing 727 and the flight number PA103-A. "Lockerbie pair 'could have survived', This page was last edited on 25 February 2023, at 21:49. Thirty years ago, the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 sent a shock wave around the world. More than 10,000 pieces of debris were retrieved, tagged, and entered into a computer tracking system. He became a senior investigating officer on the case and was the person who arrested al-Megrahi and Fhimah. Detectives investigating the Lockerbie disaster revealed details yesterday of the painstaking investigation to find those responsible for the bombing of Pan Am flight 103. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Oliver Revell, the FBI's Executive Assistant Director, was assigned to advise and assist PCAST in their task.[130]. Kathryn Turman, assistant director of the FBIs Victim Services Division, at the time headed the Office for Victims of Crime at the Department of Justice and was asked to create an assistance plan for families of the victims during the trial. Syracuse Universitys Pan Am Flight 103/Lockerbie Air Disaster Archives, Remembering Pan Am Flight 103: 30 Years Later, Remembering Pan Am Flight 103: David Jardine, Remembering Pan Am Flight 103: George Stobbs, Remembering Pan Am Flight 103: Stuart Cossar, Remembering Pan Am Flight 103: Harry Bell, Remembering Pan Am Flight 103: Dick Marquise, Remembering Pan Am Flight 103: Kathryn Turman, Remembering Pan Am Flight 103: Tom McCullough, Remembering Pan Am Flight 103: The 'Laundry Ladies', Remembering Pan Am Flight 103: Alex Smith, Remembering Pan Am Flight 103: Graeme Galloway, Remembering Pan Am Flight 103: Katie Berrell, Remembering Pan Am Flight 103: Kara Weipz, Remembering Pan Am Flight 103: Mary Kay Stratis, Remembering Pan Am Flight 103: Carole Johnson, Remembering Pan Am Flight 103: Vanessa St. Oegger-Menn, FBI.gov is an official site of the U.S. Department of Justice. terrorist bombing, over Lockerbie, Scotland, United Kingdom [1988]. He claims he was visited by two journalists who were security agents. His mother, Elizabeth . Thursday 22 December 1988 was the first day of a changed Lockerbie. The Scottish Government had already rejected an independent inquiry, saying it lacks the constitutional power to examine the international dimensions of the case.[121]. [105], The motive that is generally attributed to Libya can be traced back to a series of military confrontations with the US Navy that took place in the 1980s in the Gulf of Sidra, the whole of which Libya claimed as its territorial waters. The lecture, "It was known as the place where nothing ever happens. The bodies of Captain MacQuarrie, his copilot and the flight engineer were found still strapped into their seats. The rear fuselage and landing gear crashed into the Rosebank Crescent neighborhood in the center of town. (5 minutes) LOCKERBIE, ScotlandThe sky rained fire on a chill December night here in 1988. He met the families, and the compassion shown to them by the Scottish police made a deep impression on him. In total, 4 million pieces of wreckage were collected and registered on computer files. Johnson, who also serves on the board of Victims of Pan Am Flight 103, Inc., has dedicated his life to doing good works in his daughters memory and to advocating for airline safety. A Libyan man accused of making the bomb which destroyed Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie 34 years ago is in United States custody, Scottish authorities . We didnt disclose a great deal of material to victims for fear that it would somehow damage the investigation., The magnitude of this case required new thinking. [167], It was announced in April 2013 that part of the wreckage was transferred to a secure location in Dumfries, Scotland, and that it remains evidence in the ongoing criminal investigation. Inside the chapel at Dryfesdale there is a book of remembrance. Felicity Barringer of The New York Times said that the letter had "general language that lacked any expression of remorse" for the people killed in the bombing. Clipper Maid of the Seas' "squawk" then flickered off. He resembles him a lot". [117] On 3 October 2009, Malta was asked to table a UN resolution supporting the petition, which was signed by 20 people including the families of the Lockerbie victims, authors, journalists, professors, politicians and parliamentarians, as well as Archbishop Desmond Tutu. On December 21 Pan Am Flight 103 crashed on Lockerbie after the bombing of a Boeing 747-121. This Timeline displays events related to the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 and was created by the Pan Am Flight 103/Lockerbie Air Disaster Archives at Syracuse University to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the tragedy. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Katz, Samuel M. "Relentless Pursuit: The DSS and the manhunt for the al-Qaeda terrorists", 2002. He was the youngest officer on duty at Lockerbie, Pan Am 103 was blown up over Lockerbie, killing all 259 passengers and crew on board. Clipper Maid of the Seas approached the corner of the Solway Firth at 19:01, and crossed the coast at 19:02 UTC. [58] Gauci was shown the same magazine during his testimony at al-Megrahi's trial and asked if he had identified the photograph in April 1999 as being the person who purchased the clothing; he was then asked if that person was in the court. In 2009 Megrahi, who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, was released from prison in Scotland on compassionate grounds and allowed to return to Libya; the United States strongly disagreed with the Scottish governments decision. The following year, Libya agreed to pay $2.7 billion in compensation to families of those killed paving the way for UN sanctions against the country to be lifted. On Dec. 21, 1988, Pan Am Flight 103, en route from London's Heathrow Airport to New York, exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 243 passengers, 16 crew members and 11 people on the ground. [44], On 13 December, the warning was posted on bulletin boards in the US Embassy in Moscow and eventually distributed to the entire American community there, including journalists and businessmen. Every 21 December, a service is held in the university's chapel at 14:03 (19:03 UTC), marking the moment the bomb on board the aircraft was detonated. Everybody wanted to do something to help.. The five judges rejected the appeal, ruling unanimously that "none of the grounds of appeal was well-founded", adding "this brings proceedings to an end". November 2016. In 2001, after an investigation that involved interviewing 15,000 people and examining 180,000 pieces of evidence, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi was convicted of the bombing and sentenced to 20 (later 27) years in prison. [39] Keegans' house at 1 Sherwood Crescent was the only one on the street that was not either destroyed by the impact or gutted by fire. A lock () or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. On December 1988, the Boeing 747 was scheduled to fly from Frankfurt, Germany, to Detroit, Michigan, via London and New York. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Dr Jim Swire, 82, whose daughter Flora died in the bombing, said: We deserve to know who murdered our loved ones and why it was not prevented.. Lockerbie bomb victims relatives say their fight for justice goes on after claims they were bugged by the British security services. A terrorist bomb destroyed Pan Am flight 103 over the small Scottish town in December 1988 shortly after it had left London on its way to the USA. [155] The university also awards university tuition fees to two students from Lockerbie Academy each year, in the form of its Lockerbie scholarship. There was a great roaring noise and flames coming out of a great big hole in the ground and dense, dense smoke. . We want to make sure we dont forget them, she said, and that we live the way they livedgoing after things, not being afraidalways looking forward and making the world a better place.. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. As time passed, many came to say thank you. A Lockerbie disaster victims grandchildren gaze reflectively across the quiet land where their granddad died in Britains worst terrorist attack 30 years ago. Listen to article. Megrahi's lawyer Maggie Scott expressed dismay at the delays: "There is a very serious danger that my client will die before the case is determined. October 2015: Two more suspects linked to Libya investigated. Bryony Owen and her mum Yvonne both died in the bombing, Colin Dorrance pictured now and during his earlier days in the force. The Getty Images design is a trademark of Getty Images. [3] Acceptance of responsibility was part of a series of requirements laid out by a UN resolution for sanctions against Libya to be lifted. Some 300 tons of wreckage were scattered over an area measuring 845 square miles, making the disaster also a crime scene of massive proportions. The other 259 people aboard the aircraft died when the bomb blew apart the jetliner Dec. 21, 1988 or were killed by the 30,000-foot fall . Scottish police had also failed to inform the defence that another witness had testified seeing Libyan men making a similar purchase on a different day. There were hundreds of passengers brought into the town hall. The only basis for an appeal under Scots law is that a "miscarriage of justice" had occurred, which is not defined in statute, so the appeal court must determine the meaning of these words in each case. [123], Quotes: "[Jalil] told Expressen Khadafy [sic] gave the order to Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, the only man convicted in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed all 259 people on board and 11 on the ground on 21 December 1988. on whose farm outside Lockerbie bodies and wreckage rained down 34 years ago. [123][124], In a July 2021 interview, Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam said that his father "had stopped riding his horse after the humiliation of the American bombing of Tripoli in 1986 and resumed riding it after the Lockerbie bombing."[125]. she said that the cockpit of Pan Am flight 103 landed 50 yards from the remote cottage she still . Al Jalil's commentary to the Expressen came during widespread political unrest and protests in Libya calling for the removal of Ghaddafi from power. Although the passengers aboard the plane came from 21 countries, the majority of them were Americans, and the attack increased terrorism fears in the United States. The defence team had 14 days in which to appeal against Megrahi's conviction, and an additional six weeks to submit the full grounds of the appeal. They were only boys.. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. A Warner Bros. The colleges attended by some students are identified . [102], After the United States government obtained custody of Mas'ud, heads of the Defense and Foreign Affairs Committees of the Libyan Parliament, Talal al-Mihoub and Youssef al-Aqouri, demanded an urgent investigation into the extradition of Mas'ud, calling it a blatant violation of national sovereignty and an infringement of the rights of the Libyan citizen.
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