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.
The peaceful, unassuming little town was never to be the same. Pan American Airlines Flight 103 was en route to New York City. Originating in Frankfurt, Germany, with a stop at London's Heathrow Airport to drop off and pick up passengers. At three minutes past seven that Thursday evening, Flight 103 exploded over the tiny village, killing 259 people, as well as 11 people on the ground. The explosion left a six-mile trail of destruction on the ground.
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, thought to contain the bomb, was discovered to have been transported from Malta to Frankfurt, where it was transferred to the London flight, Pan Am Flight 103A. It later emerged that Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, the man later to be convicted of the atrocity, had boarded the Malta flight. This massive laps in security at Frankfurt Airport led to security being tightened at smaller airports all over the world.
Fingertip searches of the Lockerbie area in the process of the crash investigation turned up 56 pieces of a suitcase showing extensive bomb damage. A circuit board from the bomb was reported to have been found wrapped inside a child's t-shirt from Malta. The Maltese shopkeeper at first identified the man who bought the shirt as Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, although he later withdrew his remarks.
The trial, which began in 2000 and concluded in 2001, was held in the neutral state of the Netherlands. Because the incident had occurred in the skies over Lockerbie, al-Megrahi was tried under Scottish Law. The trial lasted for nine months.
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 Pan Am Flight 103 air crash investigation was led by Chief Inspector Watson McAteer and John Orr of Scotland. On the American team were Lawrence Whittaker, Robert Muller, Vincent Cannistraro and James Shaughnessy. One year after the crash, the investigation had amassed 35,000 photographs, 15,000 statements and 12,700 name cards. Investigators had traveled to 13 countries.
The peaceful, unassuming little town was never to be the same. Pan American Airlines Flight 103 was en route to New York City. Originating in Frankfurt, Germany, with a stop at London's Heathrow Airport to drop off and pick up passengers. At three minutes past seven that Thursday evening, Flight 103 exploded over the tiny village, killing 259 people, as well as 11 people on the ground. The explosion left a six-mile trail of destruction on the ground.
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, thought to contain the bomb, was discovered to have been transported from Malta to Frankfurt, where it was transferred to the London flight, Pan Am Flight 103A. It later emerged that Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, the man later to be convicted of the atrocity, had boarded the Malta flight. This massive laps in security at Frankfurt Airport led to security being tightened at smaller airports all over the world.
Fingertip searches of the Lockerbie area in the process of the crash investigation turned up 56 pieces of a suitcase showing extensive bomb damage. A circuit board from the bomb was reported to have been found wrapped inside a child's t-shirt from Malta. The Maltese shopkeeper at first identified the man who bought the shirt as Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, although he later withdrew his remarks.
The trial, which began in 2000 and concluded in 2001, was held in the neutral state of the Netherlands. Because the incident had occurred in the skies over Lockerbie, al-Megrahi was tried under Scottish Law. The trial lasted for nine months.
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 Pan Am Flight 103 air crash investigation was led by Chief Inspector Watson McAteer and John Orr of Scotland. On the American team were Lawrence Whittaker, Robert Muller, Vincent Cannistraro and James Shaughnessy. One year after the crash, the investigation had amassed 35,000 photographs, 15,000 statements and 12,700 name cards. Investigators had traveled to 13 countries.
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