Some of the wreckage of Pan Am Flight 103 after it crashed onto the town of Lockerbie, Scotland, on December 21, 1988. 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. Megrahi is seen below a portrait of Gadhafi at Tripoli Medical Center in Libya. Contradictory and inaccurate messages undermined the crisis response to the mysterious disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight . Pan Am flight 103, also called Lockerbie bombing, flight of a passenger airliner operated by Pan American World Airways (Pan Am) that exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, on December 21, 1988, after a bomb was detonated. Lord Sutherland, sitting with two other judges, listened as Mr Topp described how at 7.02pm he first noticed a radar abnormality with Pan Am flight 103. The attack on Pan Am flight 103 killed 270 people, including 190 Americans. Steven Flannigan: Orphan of Lockerbie bombing. - Mamamia Dark Elegy is the work of sculptor Suse Lowenstein of Long Island, whose son Alexander, then 21, was a passenger on the flight. Remembering the 1988 Lockerbie Bombing - HISTORY [45], Just days before the sabotage of the aircraft, security forces in European countries, including the UK, were put on alert after a warning from the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) that extremists might launch terrorist attacks to undermine the then-ongoing dialogue between the United States and the PLO. The planes wings, along with tanks carrying 100 tons of jet fuel, crashed into the Sherwood Crescent neighborhood, creating an inferno and a crater more than 150 feet deep. Lockerbie girl mystery 'laid to rest' - BBC News He also made a vow to the families that their sons and daughters will be remembered at Syracuse University so long as any of us shall live and so long as the university shall stand.. The colleges attended by some students are identified . The amount of property on shelving and racks really brought home to me the scale of the numbers of people involved, said Graeme Galloway, a police officer who joined the force when he was 21 years old, a few months before the Lockerbie disaster. After a three-year investigation in which the FBI and Scottish authorities worked hand in hand, the British and American governments in November 1991 announced indictments and warrants for the arrests of Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi and Lamen Khalifa Fhimah. 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 . The schools chancellor, Melvin Eggers, announced the establishment of a Remembrance Scholarship fund and plans for a memorial on campus. A further US$2million would have gone to each family had the US State Department removed Libya from its list of states regarded as supporting international terrorism, but as this did not happen by the deadline set by Libya, the Libyan Central Bank withdrew the remaining US$540million in April 2005 from the escrow account in Switzerland through which the earlier US$2.16billion compensation for the victims' families had been paid. [97], In 2020, US authorities indicted Libyan national, Abu Agila Mohammad Mas'ud Kheir Al-Marimi, for participating in the bombing. March 2004: Tony Blair offers Gaddafi hand of friendship.. Another 11 people died when the wreckage fell onto the Scottish town which gave the atrocity its name. 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. 49:41. We wanted to do justice by these families.. . Investigators believed that two Libyan intelligence agents were responsible for the bombing; many speculated that the attack had been retaliation for a 1986 U.S. bombing campaign against Libyas capital city, Tripoli. [88][89] On 20 August 2009, Megrahi was released from prison and travelled by chartered jet to Libya. I find it encouraging, she said, that we are still on their minds, and their presence convinces me of that. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. All 259 people on board were killed . The unaccompanied bag is believed to have been transferred to a Pan Am flight to London and then to Flight 103. The agreement covers 26 lawsuits filed by American citizens against Libya, and three by Libyan citizens in respect of the US bombing of Tripoli and Benghazi in April 1986 which killed at least 40 people and injured 220. Thirty-five students studying abroad with Syracuse University were struck down from the sky on Pan Am Flight 103 on December 21, 1988, along with 224 other passengers and eleven Lockerbie residents, victims of a terrorist bombing. All 259 on board die, and 11 on ground. Look back at the Pan Am Flight 103 Lockerbie bombing Terrific heat, he recalled. Its nice to come here, she explained. [10] It was the 15th 747 built, and was delivered in February 1970,[11][12] one month after the first 747 entered service with Pan Am. "It was the body of a child he'd found in a field at the back of his farm," he said. "[citation needed], "Flight 103" redirects here. He died in May 2012 as the only person to be convicted for the attack. When you consider that some of the most critical exhibits, or productions, of the case were found 80 miles from Lockerbie, Cossar said, it shows you the scale of the search., A crime scene for me was normally a house or a room or a field with a person lying in it, said Bell, whose sector included the hard-hit Rosebank neighborhood. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. So, there is a headstone with the 11 people whose bodies were not . In Lockerbie, Downing of Pan Am Flight 103 Still Casts a Long Shadow The cargo area has been the site of explosives in past bombings, including that of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. These were considered by a judge sitting in private who decided to grant Megrahi leave to appeal. Remembrance Week 2022 Begins on Sunday | Syracuse University News After a three-year joint investigation by Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary and the US FBI, during which 15,000 witness statements were taken, indictments for murder were issued on 13 November 1991 against Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, a Libyan intelligence officer and the head of security for Libyan Arab Airlines (LAA), and Lamin Khalifah Fhimah, the LAA station manager in Luqa Airport, Malta. He would later lead a team of investigators that followed the evidence to Malta. A total of 270 people were killed when a bomb ripped apart Pan Am flight 103 over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in 1988. [133][132], On 15 August 2003, Libya's UN ambassador, Ahmed Own, submitted a letter to the UN Security Council formally accepting "responsibility for the actions of its officials" in relation to the Lockerbie bombing. It was on such a trip on Friday that Colin finally discovered who the child was. He also said there was no evidence to link Libya with the April 1984 shooting of police officer Yvonne Fletcher outside the Libyan Embassy in London. A passenger plane exploded over Lockerbie 34 years ago. Its alleged 25 of 35 students were from Syracuse.". Lockerbie bombing suspect to make first court appearance on Monday in Washington. On Wednesday 21 December, 1988, just after 7pm, Pan Am Flight 103 from London to New York exploded above the small Scottish town of Lockerbie, killing all 259 people on board and 11 people on the . U.S. Said to Be Near Charges for Another Suspect in 1988 Lockerbie Bombing. Katz, Samuel M. "Relentless Pursuit: The DSS and the manhunt for the al-Qaeda terrorists", 2002. [101] Beginning at the age of 22 in 1973, he began working with bombs for the Libyan intelligence service for the next 38 years. (AP Photo: File)All over Lockerbie, those who hadn't been killed because 11 people on the . Many of their bodies were found at Rosebank Crescent, .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}12mi (0.8km) from Sherwood Crescent. On Sunday, the US Justice Department said that Masud was in US custody. Tap into Getty Images' global scale, data-driven insights, and network of more than 340,000 creators to create content exclusively for your brand. "Until we heard their story, I thought my dad had possibly had a fiery death, but he was relatively unmarked when he was found. I remember families saying they were in these vans with Scottish police officers driving 100 miles an hour down the autobahn trying to get them to the court, Turman said. I got an expert in to confirm I was being listened to. Six of the 13 cabin crew members became naturalized US citizens while working for Pan Am. Forty minutes into the flight, the plane had reached the coast of Scotland. 2023 BBC. We cannot say that it is impossible that the clothing might have been taken from Malta, united somewhere with a timer from some source other than Libya and introduced into the airline baggage system at Frankfurt or Heathrow. Concluding his extensive reply dated 27 October 2009 to the Prime Minister, Dr Swire said: You have now received a much more comprehensive letter requesting a full inquiry from our group 'UK Families-Flight 103'. Alan Dron. Why Alex Murdaugh was spared the death penalty, Why Trudeau is facing calls for a public inquiry, The shocking legacy of the Dutch 'Hunger Winter', Why half of India's urban women stay at home. The FBI, the Justice Department, no one really had much of a program of assistance in 1988 when Pan Am 103 happened, Turman said. Transcript of the trial of the Scottish court at Camp Zeist 2000, p. 59. It was one of the most satisfying experiences of my career, Turman said. As a result, the United States and the United Nations Security Council imposed economic sanctions against Libya. [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. The fuselage of the aircraft was reconstructed by air accident investigators, revealing a 20-inch (510mm) hole consistent with an explosion in the forward cargo hold. The Air Accidents Investigation Branch reassembled a large part of the fuselage to aid with the investigation; this has been retained as evidence and stored in a hangar at Farnborough Airport since the bombing. Its clear we were considered to be a mischief.. Jim Swire - Wikipedia [40] According to a BBC article on the fire published in 2018, Keegans had gone upstairs to make sure that he had hidden his mother's Christmas present, and recalls, "Immediately after that, there was an enormous explosion". Im quite proud of the Lockerbie people, actually., A month after the Pan Am Flight 103 attack, Syracuse University held a memorial service to honor its dead. In 1999, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi handed over the two men for trial at Camp Zeist, the Netherlands, after protracted negotiations and UN sanctions. [57] An official report, providing information not made available to the defence during the original trial, stated that on 19 April 1999, four days before identifying al-Megrahi for the first time, Gauci had seen a picture of al-Megrahi in a magazine that connected him to the bombing, a fact that could have distorted his judgement. This year marks the 30th anniversary. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. According to the report, the rest of the wreckage composed of "the complete fuselage forward of approximately station 480 to station 380 and incorporating the flight deck and nose landing gear was found as one piece in a field approximately 4 kilometres (2.5mi) east of Lockerbie. 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. The purchaser was, on Mr Gauci's evidence, a Libyan. In 2001, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, a Libyan intelligence officer, was jailed for life after being found guilty of 270 counts of murder in connection with the bombing. Updates? It was like it was made of butter, and it was dripping.. We will never ever forget what they did for our father.. On December 21, 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 exploded 31,000 feet over Lockerbie, Scotland, 38 minutes after takeoff from London. A News Reporter at Lockerbie - Smithsonian Magazine . Al-Megrahi was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. As the forward fuselage continued to disintegrate, the flying debris tore off both of the horizontal stabilizers, while the rear fuselage, the remaining three engines, and the fin torque box separated. On the ground in Lockerbie, it was early evening. . Two of the victims of the Lockerbie disaster may have initially survived the explosion, a report suggests. Authorities accused Libyan nationals Abdelbeset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi and Al Amin Khalifah Fhimah of manufacturing the bomb, which they said was made out of Semtex plastic explosives, concealed in a Toshiba cassette recorder, hidden in a Samsonite suitcase and slipped into an Air Malta flight headed from Malta to Frankfurt, Germany. Abdel-Jalil stepped down as minister of justice in protest over the violence against anti-government demonstrations. The Libyan government eventually agreed to pay damages to the families of the victims of the attack. [65], In October 2015, Scottish prosecutors announced that they wanted to interview two Libyan nationals, whom they had identified as new suspects, over the bombing. Thirty years ago, the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 sent a shock wave around the world. Before they submitted their report, the PCAST members met a group of British PA103 relatives at the US embassy in London on 12 February 1990. Eleven Lockerbie residents on Sherwood Crescent were killed when the wing section hit the house at 13 Sherwood Crescent at more than 800km/h (500mph) and exploded, creating a crater 47m (154ft) long and with a volume of 560m3 (730cuyd). Boards are the best place to save images and video clips. [134] The Libyan government then proceeded to pay compensation to each family of US$8million (from which legal fees of about US$2.5million were deducted) and, as a result, the UN cancelled the sanctions that had been suspended four years earlier, and US trade sanctions were lifted. Items of baby clothing, which were subsequently proven to have been made in Malta, were thought to have come from the same suitcase. Passengers aboard Pan Am Flight 103 were in a festive mood four days before Christmas. 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. More than 10,000 pieces of debris were retrieved, tagged, and entered into a computer tracking system. [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. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. 'Sitting in Solidarity' seating display commemorates Pan Am Flight 103 Bryony Owen and her mum Yvonne both died in the bombing, Colin Dorrance pictured now and during his earlier days in the force. He was released from prison on compassionate grounds on 20 August 2009. The signatories considered that a UN inquiry could help remove "many of the deep misgivings which persist in lingering over this tragedy" and could also eliminate Malta from this terrorist act. Pan Am Flight 103 destroyed midair over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988 Stobbs immediately made his way to Lockerbie and then to Sherwood Crescent. I want you to be able to do for victims, particularly terrorism victims, what you did with Pan Am 103, Turman recalled. In October 2008 it was announced that Megrahi was suffering from terminal cancer, and in August 2009, he was released from a Scottish prison on compassionate grounds. It will always, in my view, outshine any terrorist act., Katie Berrell is a senior at Syracuse University, about the same age as her uncle, Steven Berrell, when he was killed on Pan Am Flight 103. The Libyan government claimed the air strikes killed Hana Gaddafi, a daughter Gaddafi claimed he adopted (her reported age has varied between 15 months and seven years). As always you can unsubscribe at any time. 363 Lockerbie Plane Crash Premium High Res Photos It was 11 years after the bombing. Rights group questions Lockerbie suspect's extradition In fact, many have vowed never to forget, to make sure the lessons of Lockerbie are not lost on future generations. [168], The bombing of Flight 103 has been depicted in many documentaries, such as Air Crash Investigation and the BBC. [39], Many of the passengers' relatives, most of them from the US, arrived there within days to identify the dead. In August 2009, he was released by the Scottish government on compassionate grounds after being diagnosed with prostate cancer. [citation needed], At 19:02:44, Alan Topp, the clearance delivery officer at Shanwick, transmitted its oceanic route clearance. Theres a saying that the dead are still with us as long as someone speaks their name, Turman said. The family groups stated goals are to discover the truth about the bombing and to seek justice for their loved ones, to make sure the airline industry maintains and improves safety, to educate the public about Pan Am Flight 103, and to support one another. On Dalkamoni's account bombs made by Khreesat were at large somewhere. He survived for almost three more years. 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. 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. A series of test explosions was carried out to confirm the precise location and quantity of explosive used. Covers the bombing of the Boeing 747 Pan American Airways flight 103 at Lockerbie, Scotland at 1903 hours on December 21, 1988 that killed 259 passengers and crew and 11 Lockerbie residents. the Lockerbie bombing killed . There were a lot of things we looked at with Pan Am 103 that formed the basis for where we went with the Victim Assistance Program in the Bureau., The Victims of Pan Am Flight 103, Inc. group was formed in 1989, shortly after the bombing. Looking back, it was building those relationships that allowed us to come together to share information that led to an eventual solution in the case.. This mother tragically lost her son in the bombing of the Pan Am Flight 103. 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. The level of collaboration at the trial between the FBI, Department of Justice, and other federal law enforcement agencies, along with Scottish partnerswho had already set a remarkable example of compassion toward victims in the aftermath of the bombingforged a connection between family members, investigators, and victim advocates that exists to this day. He'd gone to the farm where the body of 21-year-old student Lynne Hartunian was found, along with many other passengers from the plane. Pan Am Flight 103 was destroyed by a terrorist bomb on December 21, 1988. [83], On 15 October 2008, five Scottish judges decided unanimously to reject a submission by the Crown Office, which sought to limit the scope of Megrahi's second appeal to the specific grounds of appeal that were identified by the SCCRC in June 2007. [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 was heartbreaking. 2023 Getty Images. Several other houses and their foundations were destroyed, and 21 others were damaged beyond repair. I look forward to hearing your comments both to our group's letter and to the contents of this one. For the family of a young woman killed by terrorists, there is no such The work consists of 43 nude statues of the wives and mothers who lost a husband or a child. I don't know if many of us could have survived if we didn't have each other, said Glenn Johnson, a Pennsylvania resident whose 21-year-old daughter, Beth Ann, was killed in the bombing. [66], On 21 December 2020, the 32nd anniversary of the disaster, the United States attorney general announced that Abu Agela Mas'ud Kheir Al-Marimi, a Libyan national in custody in Libya, had been charged with terrorism-related crimes in connection with the bombing, accusing him of involvement in constructing the bomb. In what was described as a milestone in Scottish legal history, Lord Cullen granted the BBC permission in January 2002 to televise the appeal, and to broadcast it on the Internet in English with a simultaneous Arabic translation. The wreckage of the crash was scattered over 2,000 square kilometers (770sqmi), and AAIB investigators were confronted by a massive jigsaw puzzle in trying to piece the plane back together. Kreindler argued that the fees were justified, since "Over the past seven years we have had a dedicated team working tirelessly on this and we deserve the contingency fee we have worked so hard for, and I think we have provided the relatives with value for money. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. [119] An op-ed article by Pamela Dix, subtitled "The families of those killed in the bombing have not given up hope of an inquiry to help us learn the lessons of this tragedy", was published in The Guardian on 26 October 2009. The trigger for the explosion was an MST-13 timer of the single solder mask variety. Turmans team proposed an idea without precedent: Create a website and provide closed-circuit video coverage of the trial that families could access in various locations on two continents. 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. Clipper Maid of the Seas' "squawk" then flickered off. Air traffic control tried to make contact with the flight, with no response. Those who knew and loved these people will never forget the moment they discovered the nearly unbearable truth. 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.
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