on whose farm outside Lockerbie bodies and wreckage rained down 34 years ago. As Megrahi had only been in Malta on 7 December, that date was assumed to be the purchase date. [111] To avenge his daughter's supposed death (Hana or Hanna's actual fate remains disputed), Gaddafi is said to have sponsored the September 1986 hijacking of Pan Am Flight 73 in Karachi, Pakistan. In many ways, the reverberations are still being felt today. He would later lead a team of investigators that followed the evidence to Malta. terrorist bombing, over Lockerbie, Scotland, United Kingdom [1988]. 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. [126] Following the Lockerbie verdict in 2001 and the appeal in 2002, attempts have been made to re-open the case amid allegations that Libya was framed. 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. On December 21, Pan Am 103 was beginning the second leg of its Frankfurt-London-New York-Detroit route. The bodies of Captain MacQuarrie, his copilot and the flight engineer were found still strapped into their seats. [163][164] In Sherwood Crescent there is a garden of remembrance to the seven Lockerbie residents killed when the aircraft's main wreckage fell there, destroying their homes.[165]. Terrific heat, he recalled. Five weeks before this warning, Jibril's right-hand man, Haffez Dalkamoni, had been arrested in Frankfurt with a known bomb-maker, Marwen Khreesat. These aviators lost their pensions, healthcare, savings, and livelihoods when . 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. For the families who lost loved ones; for the Scottish police officers, firefighters, and volunteers who responded to an unprecedented disaster; for investigators and prosecutors who dedicated years of effort to the case; and for the residents of Lockerbie, there is no forgetting December 21, 1988. Tap into Getty Images' global scale, data-driven insights, and network of more than 340,000 creators to create content exclusively for your brand. It offered us so much comfort to know that he had been looked after.. This was backed up by a delegation of Lockerbie relatives, led by Pamela Dix, who went to 10 Downing Street on 24 October 2009 and handed over a letter addressed to Gordon Brown calling for a meeting with the Prime Minister to discuss the need for a public inquiry and the main issues that it should address. [22] The CVR, located in the tail section of the aircraft, was found in a field by police searchers within 24 hours. But at Arlington National Cemetery this year, some of their grandchildren will be in attendance. When he got news of the crash, he made his way to Lockerbie near midnight and was placed in charge of an area called Sector B. The bomb, constructed with the odourless plastic explosive Semtex, was hidden in a cassette player that was stored in a suitcase. 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). They seemed satisfied with what I said, as if I didnt know as much as they feared., UN inspector Dr Hans Koechler, an independent observer at Abdelbaset al-Megrahis trial, said: I had similar experiences after my first report on the Lockerbie trial in 2001.. [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. This had never been done in a Scottish court, said Tom McCulloch, who was a police officer with the Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary when the Lockerbie air disaster occurred. "[52] A deep-cover CIA agent was told by up to 15 high-level Syrian officials that the PFLP-GC was involved and that officials interacted with Jibril "on a constant basis". Her team began contacting families and making flight reservations. We continue to do that.. I am one of the signatories. Dec. 21, 1988: Pan Am Flight 103 explodes 31,000 feet over Lockerbie, Scotland, 38 minutes after takeoff from London. Ive never seen a law enforcement agency other than the Scottish police who did anything like this, Turman said. [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. People who lived . Sharing information and paying attention to even the smallest detail helped solve the case, he said. "The farmer was there and it was his father who'd brought the child to the town hall. Some of the destruction caused by Pan Am Flight 103 after it crashed onto the town of Lockerbie in Scotland, on 21st December 1988. 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 . 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. 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. "[citation needed], "Flight 103" redirects here. There would be four groups of two, so that would be eight, in the morning, and it would change at lunchtime, so it would be around 16 volunteers coming in every day to start with, said Elma Pringle. 2023 BBC. Other parts of the jetliner came to rest in and around Lockerbie. We hoped we would have at least several days notice so we could get families over for the verdict, Turman said. [67], On 11 December 2022, the United States advised they had Abu Agila Mohammad Mas'ud Kheir Al-Marimi in custody. [161] This play has received the Silver Medal from the Onassis International Playwriting Competition and the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays award. Pan Am Flight 103 . [citation needed], Prominent among the passenger victims was the 50-year-old UN Commissioner for Namibia (then South West Africa), Bernt Carlsson, who would have attended the signing ceremony of the New York Accords at the UN headquarters the following day. [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. 45:47. Hugh said he was still strapped in his seat and had his sleeves rolled up. Just a minute later, according to a video . 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. Another caller claimed the plane had been downed by Mossad, the Israeli intelligence service. More than 10,000 pieces of debris were retrieved, tagged, and entered into a computer tracking system. The scholars mission is to keep the memory of the victims alive, to perform acts of community service, including organizing an annual Remembrance Week on campus, and to raise awareness about terrorism. The U.S. arrest of Libyan man Abu Agila Mas'ud accused of making the bomb that exploded on board Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988 has renewed attention on the incident. It was 11 years after the bombing. The ceremony also honors 2002-03 Lockerbie Scholar Andrew McClune, who died in 2002. 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. 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. It was heartbreaking. Like many of his colleagues, the case consumed every minute of his professional life. Lockerbie is a small town, said Alex Smith, where nothing much happens, but neighbors tend to know each other. Although he believes that most residents would like to quietly get along with business and not make a fuss about it, the townspeople responded to the disaster with amazing courage and dignity. [citation needed] The bombing is also compared with the death of actor Brandon Lee on the track Gold off of hip-hop artist GZAs 1995 album Liquid Swords, in the lyric, "Snake got smoked on the set like Brandon Lee, blown out the frame like Pan Am Flight 103. For the families of the victims of Pan Am Flight 103, Lockerbie and its residents will forever hold a place in their hearts. After 30 years, some of the founding members of the family group have died, others have grown old. It said activities of victims relatives would need careful watching. Some of the 196 bodies found so far did contain shrapnel, he said. 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. Lockerbie is changed. Within days of the bombing, and for years after, family members of victims from the United States and other countries made their way to Lockerbie. More U.S. civilians died in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland than in any other terrorist attack except 9/11. December 2010: Leaked secret US cables reveal UK faced Libyan threats if al-Megrahi died in jail. Rescue . Weipz is also president of the advocacy group Victims of Pan Am Flight 103, Inc. Kara Weipz, whose brother, Richard Monetti, was killed on Pan Am Flight 103, stands at a memorial to the victims at Syracuse University. 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. 'To hide it, he (Khadafy) did everything in his power to get al-Megrahi back from Scotland,' Abdel-Jalil was quoted as saying."[148]. "Fate just fell into place," Colin said. December 21, 1988: Pan Am Flight 103 from Frankfurt to Detroit via London blows up. 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. There was a great roaring noise and flames coming out of a great big hole in the ground and dense, dense smoke. Shortly after 19:00 on 21 December 1988, while the aircraft was in flight over the Scottish town of Lockerbie, it was destroyed by a bomb that had been planted on board, killing all 243 passengers and 16 crew in what became known as the Lockerbie bombing. The schools chancellor, Melvin Eggers, announced the establishment of a Remembrance Scholarship fund and plans for a memorial on campus. Hundreds of family members traveled to the Netherlands during the nine-month trial. Megrahi is seen below a portrait of Gadhafi at Tripoli Medical Center in Libya. January 2001: Al-Megrahi gets life. Then a loud noise was recorded on the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) at 19:02:50. Then-Libyan leader Moammar Ghadafi denied any culpability for the attack. But when the plane dropped out of the sky that night, no one was certain what had happened. Targets specified are Pan Am Airlines and US military bases.' He was released from prison on compassionate grounds on 20 August 2009. He argued that the verdict was not one that a reasonable jury in an ordinary trial could have reached if it were given proper directions by the judge. The Guardian, 12 November 1994, page 6, "Cover-up claim as Lockerbie film screening is cancelled". A stained glass window in Lockerbies Town Hall represents the 270 victims of Pan Am Flight 103 and the 21 countries they came from. In Lockerbie Town Hall Council Chambers, there is a stained-glass window depicting flags of the 21 countries whose citizens lost their lives in the disaster. Although both BP and the U.K. government denied that Megrahi was discussed specifically, in 2009 British justice minister Jack Straw had stated that BPs business dealings with the Libyan government were a factor in considering his case. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. Pan Am Flight 103. Geographical boundaries were drawn into sectors, and a dedicated team was assigned to each. We update each other on what both organizations are doing, we have regular face-to-face meetings, whether in the U.S. or Scotland, and we keep in contact., If I had a message to tell the families and people around the world, Cossar added, it is that this is very much a live investigation, and we are hopeful that at some point in the future we will have potentially another trial and possibly another conviction.. [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. [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.
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