In 1991, former FBI Director Robert Mueller was the assistant attorney general at the Department of Justice, and he was in charge of the Lockerbie investigation. Bakhmut attacks still being repelled, says Ukraine, AOC under investigation for Met Gala dress, Mother who killed her five children euthanised, Alex Murdaugh jailed for life for double murder, Zoom boss Greg Tomb fired without cause, The children left behind in Cuba's exodus, Spencer Matthews looks for brother's body on Everest. So much of what we ended up doing for 9/11 families and others has come from lessons learned from the Pan Am 103 families, she said. "At the time it all happened so fast. The blast broke the plane into thousands of pieces that landed in an area covering roughly 850 square miles (2,200 square km). Pan Am Flight 103 from London to New York is bombed midair over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 243 passengers and 16 crew members aboard, as well as 11 people on the ground. Swire and many other UK relatives have never believed in the guilt of the man convicted of the bombing, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi. A leading rights group has urged the U.S. and Libya to clarify the legality of a surprise extradition of a suspect in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/event/Pan-Am-flight-103, Rights group questions Lockerbie suspects extradition. The bodies of Captain MacQuarrie, his copilot and the flight engineer were found still strapped into their seats. [115] Two online petitions were started: one calling for a UK public inquiry into the Lockerbie bombing;[116] the other a UN inquiry into the murder of UN Commissioner for Namibia, Bernt Carlsson, in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing. "[citation needed], "Flight 103" redirects here. "I now know the person I need to remember. All 259 people on board were killed, and 11 individuals on the ground also died. [82] Maggie Scott also asked for documents relating to an alleged payment of $2million made to Maltese merchant, Tony Gauci, for his testimony at the trial, which led to the conviction of Megrahi. 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 Rev John Mosey, who lost his teenage daughter Helga, says: I could hear little clicks and clunks when on the phone and Lockerbie documents disappeared from my computer. [81] One of the issues concerned a number of documents that were shown before the trial to the prosecution, but were not disclosed to the defence. The following day, a helicopter took Megrahi from Camp Zeist to continue his life sentence in Barlinnie Prison, Glasgow. All Rights Reserved. Airlines bent over backwards to book people on overnight flights. [120] On 1 November 2009, it was reported that Gordon Brown had ruled out a public inquiry into Lockerbie, saying in response to Dr Swire's letter: "I understand your desire to understand the events surrounding the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 but I do not think it would be appropriate for the UK government to open an inquiry of this sort." It is, as we have said, clear that with one exception, the clothing in the primary suitcase was the clothing purchased in Mr Gauci's shop on 7 December 1988. Pan Am Flight 103 - a regularly scheduled transatlantic flight from Frankfurt, Germany to Detroit, USA - exploded from a terrorist bomb at 30,000 feet in the air. Victoria Cummock's husband was among the 259 passengers who died after a bomb exploded on Pan Am Flight 103 on Dec. 21, 1988, just north of the England-Scotland border. Hugh said he was still strapped in his seat and had his sleeves rolled up. The "Shatter Zone" Portion Of The Reconstructed Fuselage Of Pan Am Flight 103, Which Exploded Over Lockerbie In 1988 Is On Display January 31, 2001. [5], In 2020, US authorities indicted the Tunisia resident and Libyan national Abu Agila Mohammad Mas'ud Kheir Al-Marimi, who was 37 years old at the time of the incident[6] for participating in the bombing, and in December 2022, they obtained custody of him. The lifeless bodies of Pan Am Flight 103's crew and more than a dozen first class passengers lay almost intact amid the devastation of the downed plane. We knew there was a very serious incident there., Pan Am Flight 103 was flying at an altitude of 31,000 feet over Lockerbie, Scotland, when a terrorist bomb exploded on board. It was such an extreme, intense moment.". [150], In 1992, a US federal court found Pan Am guilty of willful misconduct due to lax security screening caused by not implementing baggage reconciliation, a new security program mandated by the FAA prior to the incident, which requires unaccompanied luggage to be searched by hand and to ensure passengers board flights onto which they have checked baggage; Pan Am relied more on the less-effective method of x-ray screening. "It was a young child under the age of five. [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. All 259 people on board were killed . The retired GP said: These two guys asked to meet me. [20] A British Airways pilot, flying the LondonGlasgow shuttle near Carlisle, called Scottish authorities to report that he could see a huge fire on the ground. Demands for such an inquiry emerged later, and became more insistent. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Flight Engineer Jerry D. Avritt (46), who joined Pan Am in 1980 after 13 years with National Airlines, had more than 8,000 hours of flying time, with nearly 500 hours in the 747. As time passed, many came to say thank you. At the time he was in custody in Libya. On December 1988, the Boeing 747 was scheduled to fly from Frankfurt, Germany, to Detroit, Michigan, via London and New York. 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. On scope, the aircraft showed transponder code, or "squawk", 0357 and flight level 310. Lockerbie bombing victims with the remaining 20% of the sum agreed in 2003; News.bbc.co.uk. The transatlantic leg of the route was operated by Clipper Maid of the Seas, a Boeing 747-121 registered N739PA. 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. Colin chose not to use his position in the police to find out who the child was, feeling that it would have been unprofessional to do so. The cargo area has been the site of explosives in past bombings, including that of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. [69], The Lockerbie judgment stated: .mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 40px}.mw-parser-output .templatequote .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0}, From the evidence which we have discussed so far, we are satisfied that it has been proved that the primary suitcase containing the explosive device was dispatched from Malta, passed through Frankfurt, and was loaded onto PA103 at Heathrow. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. And there's a good possibility they were conscious, said Dr. William G. Eckert, director of the Milton Helpern . The Scottish court agreed, allowing a live feed of the trial to two sites in the United Kingdomone in Scotland and one in Londonand a delayed, taped feed broadcast to locations in New York and Washington, D.C. This place is special. The Lockerbie bombing took place on December 21, 1988, when Pan Am Flight 103 was blown out of the sky. There is a semicircular stone wall in the garden of remembrance with the names and nationalities of all the victims along with individual funeral stones and memorials. 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. There are memorials in Lockerbie and Moffat Roman Catholic churches, where plaques list the names of all 270 victims. William Taylor QC, leading the defence, said at the appeal's opening on 23 January 2002 that the three trial judges sitting without a jury had failed to see the relevance of "significant" evidence and had accepted unreliable facts. ", "Libyan Parliament calls for urgent investigation into Masud's extradition to US", "Libya Admits Culpability In Crash of Pan Am Plane", Security Council lifts sanctions imposed on Libya after terrorist bombings of Pan Am 103 and UTA 772, Statement by Principal Deputy Press Secretary Speakes on the Gulf of Sidra Incident, "NBC's Mitchell Regurgitates Gaddafi Lies", "ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 N54629 Tnr desert", "The best tribute to the 270 victims of Lockerbie is to find out the truth", "Petition to set up public inquiry into Lockerbie", "Petition to UN General Assembly to open Pan Am 103 inquiry", "Malta asked to support demands for UN inquiry on Lockerbie", "Lockerbie families lobby Gordon Brown for public inquiry", "Lockerbie inquiry ruled out by Gordon Brown", "Khadaffi gav order om Lockerbie-attentatet", "Gaddafi accused of ordering Lockerbie bombing", "Qaddafi's Son Is Alive. After 30 years, some of the founding members of the family group have died, others have grown old. He said, I want a professional victim assistance program. On December 21, 1988, the State of Libya bombed Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 innocent civilians. Some of the 196 bodies found so far did contain shrapnel, he said. The child was the first victim to arrive at what became a makeshift mortuary, but the young constable never discovered who she was, until a chance meeting with the farmer's son finally solved the mystery. In September 2009, a third petition which was addressed to the President of the United Nations General Assembly demanded that the UN should "institute a full public inquiry" into the Lockerbie disaster. And now, 26 years on, they have brought Franks grandchildren to a place that means so much to the family, laying roses at the spot where he was found and listening to Margaret and Hughs memories. The Getty Images design is a trademark of Getty Images. Another theory suggests the CIA prevented the suitcase containing the bomb from being searched. Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi refused to turn over the two suspects. All 259 passengers and crew members were killed. [84] In January 2009, it was reported that, although Megrahi's second appeal against conviction was scheduled to begin in April 2009, the hearing could last as long as 12 months because of the complexity of the case and volume of material to be examined. It really wasnt until the two Libyans were handed over for trial that the plight of the families came back up. 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. In many ways, the reverberations are still being felt today. 2023 BBC. Now retired, the 48-year-old is one of five men representing the emergency services who are taking part in a transatlantic fundraising bike ride to mark the 30th anniversary. This was just a catastrophe. The application to the SCCRC followed the publication of two reports in February 2001 and March 2002 by Hans Kchler, who had been an international observer at Camp Zeist, appointed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations. A total of 270 people were killed when a bomb ripped apart Pan Am flight 103 over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in 1988. Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much August 2009: Cancer victim al-Megrahi freed on compassionate grounds. On December 21, Pan Am 103 was beginning the second leg of its Frankfurt-London-New York-Detroit route. The bodies of two of these students were never recovered. 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. A large, private space for families next to the courtroom became known as the safe haven. It was a lounge for the families to wait in before, during, and right after the trial, Turman said. Corrections? In December 1988, Franks family were wracked by grief as it became clear he had perished along with 258 other passengers and crew in the explosion on his way home to the US for Christmas on the night of the 21st.