At 19:03 on Thursday, December 21, 1988, an American airliner exploded mid-air and crashed in the tiny village of Lockerbie, Scotland. Located in Dumfries and Galloway County, Lockerbie is accessible by a major highway, the A74(M). Nearby, there are a train station, a park (King Edward) and a golf course. The Pan Am Flight 103 air crash investigation began shortly thereafter.
Life in Lockerbie was permanently changed. The aircraft was on its way to New York City, having originated in Frankfurt, Germany, and stopping briefly in London. The plane blew up over the town, resulting in the loss of 270 lives, including 11 local residents. Debris was discovered over a six-mile stretch of the area.
Shortly before the crash, on the 18th of December, U. S. Embassies in Russia and in Finland released a warning that a terrorist attack on an American airliner travelling from Frankfurt to the United States was imminent. The local police departments were made aware of the threat, as was the airline, although the travelling public were kept oblivious to the threat. Several people had planned to board the aircraft in London, but for various reasons did not make it. Among these people were a government official from South Africa, a mechanic from India and a popular American singing group.
An unaccompanied suitcase was discovered to have been flown from Malta to Frankfurt, where it was placed on Pan Am Flight 103A to London. Coincidentally, or not, the plane in Malta had also been boarded by Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, later convicted of murder for masterminding the attack. To prevent future incidents of unaccompanied luggage, security at minor airports all over the globe has been strictly tightened in the wake of the Lockerbie incident.
Meticulous searches of the local area as part of the investigation led to the collection of 56 fragments of a suitcase that revealed severe damage from a bomb. The suitcase was believed to have contained a circuit board from the bomb, wrapped in a children's t-shirt from Malta. The shopkeeper in Malta originally identified the man who purchased the item to be Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, although he later retracted his claim.
Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi was convicted of the bombing at a trial held in the Netherlands, a neutral country in the years 2000 and 2001. He was tried under Scottish law, as that was the site of the crime.
The trial went on for nine months, after which the Libyan national was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment, to serve a minimum of 27 years. He was revealed to be suffering from prostate cancer in 2008 and released from prison and flown home to Libya on compassionate grounds by then Scottish Justice, Kenny MacAskill. This was an extremely controversial move, causing anger on both sides of the Atlantic. Rubbing salt into the wound, his countrymen in Libya greeted him as a hero.
The Scottish arm of the Pan Am Flight 103 air crash investigation was led by John Orr and Watson McAteer, Chief Inspector of the local police force. The American team was comprised of two CIA personnel, Jim Shaughnessy and Vinnie Cannistraro. Rounding out the American team were Robert Muller and Larry Whittaker. Together, the investigation took place in 13 countries and accumulated 15,000 statements, 35,000 photos and 12,700 name cards.
Life in Lockerbie was permanently changed. The aircraft was on its way to New York City, having originated in Frankfurt, Germany, and stopping briefly in London. The plane blew up over the town, resulting in the loss of 270 lives, including 11 local residents. Debris was discovered over a six-mile stretch of the area.
Shortly before the crash, on the 18th of December, U. S. Embassies in Russia and in Finland released a warning that a terrorist attack on an American airliner travelling from Frankfurt to the United States was imminent. The local police departments were made aware of the threat, as was the airline, although the travelling public were kept oblivious to the threat. Several people had planned to board the aircraft in London, but for various reasons did not make it. Among these people were a government official from South Africa, a mechanic from India and a popular American singing group.
An unaccompanied suitcase was discovered to have been flown from Malta to Frankfurt, where it was placed on Pan Am Flight 103A to London. Coincidentally, or not, the plane in Malta had also been boarded by Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, later convicted of murder for masterminding the attack. To prevent future incidents of unaccompanied luggage, security at minor airports all over the globe has been strictly tightened in the wake of the Lockerbie incident.
Meticulous searches of the local area as part of the investigation led to the collection of 56 fragments of a suitcase that revealed severe damage from a bomb. The suitcase was believed to have contained a circuit board from the bomb, wrapped in a children's t-shirt from Malta. The shopkeeper in Malta originally identified the man who purchased the item to be Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, although he later retracted his claim.
Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi was convicted of the bombing at a trial held in the Netherlands, a neutral country in the years 2000 and 2001. He was tried under Scottish law, as that was the site of the crime.
The trial went on for nine months, after which the Libyan national was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment, to serve a minimum of 27 years. He was revealed to be suffering from prostate cancer in 2008 and released from prison and flown home to Libya on compassionate grounds by then Scottish Justice, Kenny MacAskill. This was an extremely controversial move, causing anger on both sides of the Atlantic. Rubbing salt into the wound, his countrymen in Libya greeted him as a hero.
The Scottish arm of the Pan Am Flight 103 air crash investigation was led by John Orr and Watson McAteer, Chief Inspector of the local police force. The American team was comprised of two CIA personnel, Jim Shaughnessy and Vinnie Cannistraro. Rounding out the American team were Robert Muller and Larry Whittaker. Together, the investigation took place in 13 countries and accumulated 15,000 statements, 35,000 photos and 12,700 name cards.
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