Access the best of Getty Images with our simple subscription plan. A total of 270 people were killed when a bomb ripped apart Pan Am flight 103 over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in 1988. I look forward to hearing your comments both to our group's letter and to the contents of this one. "We owe it to the families of the victims of Lockerbie and the international community to identify those responsible," McGowan said. On December 21, 1988, the State of Libya bombed Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 innocent civilians. "It took me 25 years to find out who the farmer was but I gathered that he suffered quite terribly as a result of what he experienced that night, and I didn't want to awaken any bad feelings, so I left it alone.". [95] As reported on 29 August, he had been located and both the Scottish government and council issued a statement confirming that they had been in contact with his family and that his licence had not been breached. [21], The explosion punched a 50cm (20in) hole on the left side of the fuselage. The Lockerbie bombing, as it came to be known, took 270 lives that evening of Dec. 21, 1988, killing everyone aboard along with 11 residents in the small Scottish town. It was a place where family members were shielded from the inquiring media and where U.S. and Scottish personnelsome police investigators who had worked on the case years beforeacted as family liaison officers, providing support from the moment family members walked in the door.. 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. 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 . This year marks the 33rd anniversary . And ever since, they have tenderly called him Our Boy. On 26 August 2011, it was announced that the whereabouts of Al-Megrahi were unknown due to the social upheaval in Libya and that he had not been in contact for some time. It was en route to New York. Air Crash Investigationss. [85] The second appeal began on 28 April 2009, lasted for one month and was adjourned in May 2009. Based on a 1995 investigation by journalists Paul Foot and John Ashton, alternative explanations of the plot to commit the Lockerbie bombing were listed by The Guardian's Patrick Barkham in 1999. For the hijacking in Karachi, see, Abu Agila Mohammad Mas'ud Kheir Al-Marimi. When the fuel-laden wings and a section of the main body . During what Boyd calls Phase 1 of the investigation--the search for bodies--victims were discovered over a 10-mile radius around Lockerbie. In many homes, dinner plates had been cleared away, televisions were tuned to This Is Your Life, and parents were wrapping presents. [9][25], Flight 103 was under the command of Captain James B. MacQuarrie (55), a Pan Am pilot since 1964 with almost 11,000 flight hours, of which over 4,000 had been accrued in 747 aircraft. . So we had to figure out how to make the trial accessible to everyone.. 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. Oliver Revell, the FBI's Executive Assistant Director, was assigned to advise and assist PCAST in their task.[130]. In addition to the Remembrance Scholars, Syracuse hosts two Lockerbie Scholars each year from Scotland, a continuing reminder of the enduring bond between the university and the town. [132], Jim Kreindler of the New York law firm Kreindler & Kreindler, which orchestrated the settlement, said: "These are uncharted waters. 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. Felicity Barringer of The New York Times said that the letter had "general language that lacked any expression of remorse" for the people killed in the bombing. Shortly after Mueller became FBI Director in 2001just days before the 9/11 attackshe asked Turman to establish a new Office for Victim Assistance at the FBI. The next stage will see the group cycling 600 miles from the Lockerbie memorial at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia to Syracuse University, which lost 35 students in the bombing. "Fate just fell into place," Colin said. All Rights Reserved. My children are now laying the groundwork as to how they want to approach this with their children, said Mary Kay Stratis, whose husband died on Pan Am Flight 103. Speaking after he arrived at Edinburgh Castle, Colin said: "I was thinking about Bryony today. [Oliver_ FBI's Oliver "Buck" Revell served as Advisor to PCAST]. On Dec. 21, 1988, a bomb went off on a Pan Am passenger plane flying over Lockerbie, Scotland, causing a midair explosion that sent the aircraft crashing down. Fhimah was acquitted. [68], On 3 May 2000, the trial of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi and Lamin Khalifah Fhimah began. Time frame is present. On the ground, 11 residents of Lockerbie were killed when the planes burning wings plunged into a quiet neighborhood just after dinner. The aircraft did not acknowledge this message. Kathryn Turman, assistant director of the FBIs Victim Services Division, at the time headed the Office for Victims of Crime at the Department of Justice and was asked to create an assistance plan for families of the victims during the trial. Detectives investigating the Lockerbie disaster revealed details yesterday of the painstaking investigation to find those responsible for the bombing of Pan Am flight 103. [108], The US National Security Agency's (NSA) alleged interception of an incriminatory message from Libya to its embassy in East Berlin provided US President Ronald Reagan with the justification for Operation El Dorado Canyon on 15 April 1986, with US Navy and US Marine Corps warplanes launching from three aircraft carriers in the Gulf of Sidra and US Air Force warplanes launching from two British bases[109][110]the first US military strikes from Britain since World War IIagainst Tripoli and Benghazi in Libya. [3] On 22 February 2011, during the Libyan Civil War, former Minister of Justice Mustafa Abdul Jalil stated in an interview with the Swedish newspaper Expressen that Gaddafi had personally ordered the bombing. [140], Following discussions in London in May 2008, US and Libyan officials agreed to start negotiations to resolve all outstanding bilateral compensation claims, including those relating to UTA Flight 772, the 1986 Berlin discotheque bombing and Pan Am Flight 103. 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. 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. [138], In the wake of the SCCRC's June 2007 decision, there have been suggestions that, if Megrahi's second appeal had been successful and his conviction had been overturned, Libya could have sought to recover the $2.16billion compensation paid to the relatives. This annual ceremony remembers the 270 people, including 35 students studying abroad through Syracuse University, who were killed in the Dec. 21, 1988, bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. 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. The airline was seeking $4.5billion for the loss of the aircraft and the effect on the airline's business. They dont understand why we are reluctant to disclose information about the investigation.. In 2008, the UK government "decided to 'do all it could' to help the Libyans get Al-Megrahi home and explained the legal procedure for compassionate release to the Libyans."[94]. "[86], On 25 July 2009, Megrahi applied to be released from jail on compassionate grounds. Inside the chapel at Dryfesdale there is a book of remembrance. 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. December 21 is the winter solstice, the darkest day of the year. Bollier wanted to pursue this discrepancy, but was told by trial judge Lord Sutherland that he could not do so. The work consists of 43 nude statues of the wives and mothers who lost a husband or a child. At the 20th anniversary service at Arlington National Cemetery to commemorate the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, former FBI Director Robert Mueller greeted Scottish and U.S. investigators who worked on the investigation. "At the time it all happened so fast. 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. He became a senior investigating officer on the case and was the person who arrested al-Megrahi and Fhimah. Both organizations share as much information as possible with the familiesanother lesson the FBI learned from the tragedy. During the First Libyan Civil War in 2011, former Minister of Justice Mustafa Abdul Jalil claimed that the Libyan leader had personally ordered the bombing,[3] while investigators have long believed that Megrahi did not act alone, and have been reported as questioning retired Stasi agents about a possible role in the attack. Malta was brought into the case because the prosecution argued that the two accused Libyans, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi and Lamin Khalifah Fhimah, had placed the bomb on an Air Malta aircraft before it was transferred at Frankfurt airport to a feeder flight destined for London's Heathrow airport, from which Pan Am Flight 103 departed. It was just a case of moving on then, but in years since it was something that bothered me. They turned up in a sports car and made me feel quite uneasy. Two hundred and fifty-nine people on board the New York-bound Boeing . The trial began on May 3, 2000. [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. The flight was in route from Heathrow Airport London to New York City. So, there is a headstone with the 11 people whose bodies were not . Masud has been charged in a criminal complaint for allegedly providing the suitcase with the prepared explosive that was later placed on the flight. There are memorials in Lockerbie and Moffat Roman Catholic churches, where plaques list the names of all 270 victims. On 7 July 2009, the court reassembled for a procedural hearing and was told that because of the illness of one of the judges, Lord Wheatley, who was recovering from heart surgery, the final two substantive appeal sessions would run from 2 November to 11 December 2009, and 12 January to 26 February 2010. He previously served three years in the U.S. Navy and five years in the Massachusetts Air National Guard, where he held the rank of major. Six of the 13 cabin crew members became naturalized US citizens while working for Pan Am. In addition, the university annually awards 35 scholarships to seniors to honour each of the 35 students killed. Read about our approach to external linking. The Scots provided transportation from the airport, and Dutch authorities quickly ushered a couple hundred family members through customs, many leaving their baggage behind in the rush. At 75, Richard Granat does not fit the stereotype of a startup entrepreneur. . [30][31], Aboard the flight were U.S. Department of State Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) Special Agents Daniel Emmett O'Connor and Ronald Albert Lariviere. Clipper Maid of the Seas' "squawk" then flickered off. Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi refused to turn over the two suspects. However, he says, although there may be bias against older entrepreneurs, his experience is a benefit, not a . Over three years, investigators from the United States, Britain, Germany and other countries questioned more than 15,000 people in more than 30 countries and collected thousands of pieces of evidence. A sleeper cell belonging to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (General Command) had been operating in West Germany in the months before the Pan Am bombing. But while they wept, tormented by their imagination of what had happened to 45-year-old Frank, thousands of miles away astonished farmers Margaret and Hugh Connell had discovered him six miles from the town in one of their fields still strapped to his seat, 11B, and almost unmarked. It was 11 years after the bombing. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. The clothes were traced to a Maltese merchant, Tony Gauci, who became a key prosecution witness, testifying that he sold the clothes to a man of Libyan appearance. On Dalkamoni's account bombs made by Khreesat were at large somewhere. It would be nearly a decade before the Libyan government turned the two over to face trial. The BBC's Scotland correspondent, Andrew Cassell, reported on the 10th anniversary of the bombing that the townspeople had "opened their homes and hearts" to the relatives, bearing their own losses "stoically and with enormous dignity", and that the bonds forged then continue to this day.[41]. As a result, the United States and the United Nations Security Council imposed economic sanctions against Libya. Two alerts were released shortly before the bombing. A terrorist bomb destroyed Pan Am flight 103 over the small Scottish town in December 1988 shortly after it had left London on its way to the USA. Volunteers from Lockerbie set up and staffed canteens which stayed open 24 hours a day and offered relatives, soldiers, police officers, and social workers free sandwiches, hot meals, beverages, and counseling. [59], A circuit board fragment, allegedly found embedded in a piece of charred material, was identified as part of an electronic timer similar to one found on a Libyan intelligence agent who had been arrested 10 months previously for carrying materials for a Semtex bomb. Syracuse University Libraries' Pan Am Flight 103/Lockerbie Air Disaster Archives, part of the Special Collections Research Center, is sponsoring a public lecture on Friday, Oct. 21, from 10 to 11 a.m. in the Peter Graham Scholarly Commons in Bird Library, Room 114. The nose cone landed a few miles away in a field opposite a church, images of which would become an iconic testament to the tragedy. Passengers aboard Pan Am Flight 103 were in a festive mood four days before Christmas. Katz, Samuel M. "Relentless Pursuit: The DSS and the manhunt for the al-Qaeda terrorists", 2002. For many, including 35 students from Syracuse University who had been studying abroad, it was a much-anticipated homecoming, a reunion with family and friends in time for the holidays. . [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. When asked if Libya would therefore seek reimbursement of the compensation paid to the families of the victims (US$33billion in total), Saif Gaddafi replied: "I don't know". 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. All 259 people on board were killed, and 11 individuals on the ground also died. "University remembers Flight 103. The bombing was the first major terrorist attack on Americans. They made it to the courtroom 10 minutes before the verdicts were read. [20]:44 The fuselage consisting of the main wing box structure landed in Sherwood Crescent, destroying three homes and creating a large impact crater. What Syracuse has done is truly remarkable, Weipz said. Megrahi was released on licence, so was obliged to remain in regular contact with East Renfrewshire Council. Following his release, Megrahi published evidence on the Internet that was gathered for the abandoned second appeal which he claimed would clear his name. Lockerbie bomb victims relatives say their fight for justice goes on after claims they were bugged by the British security services. There is also a book of remembrance at Lockerbie public library and another at Tundergarth Church. The cabin crew was based at Heathrow and lived in the London area or commuted from around Europe. [104] The letter stated that it "accepted responsibility for the actions of its officials". Although it is sadly symbolic that the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 occurred on that day, it is perhaps more meaningful to consider that the responses to the tragedythe kindnesses shown, the friendships made, the positive changes to aviation security, and law enforcements care for victimscontinue to cast a very bright light into the world all these years later. I hope that the contents of this letter underline some of the reasons as to why I cannot possibly accept that any inquiry should be limited to Scotland, and I apologise if my previous personal letter of 24 August misled you over the main focus that the inquiry will need to address. Libya said it had to accept responsibility due to Megrahi's status as a government employee.[4]. [22] The rear fuselage, parts of the baggage hold, and three landing gear units landed at Rosebank Crescent. Theres no other place we feel as connected to him as on the farm. terrorist bombing, over Lockerbie, Scotland, United Kingdom [1988]. "[20]:16, The British Geological Survey 23 kilometres (14mi) away at Eskdalemuir registered a seismic event at 19:03:36 measuring 1.6 on the moment magnitude scale, which was attributed to the impact. We hoped we would have at least several days notice so we could get families over for the verdict, Turman said. 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. We anticipate that, as often happens, many groups will seek to claim credit. Al Jalil's commentary to the Expressen came during widespread political unrest and protests in Libya calling for the removal of Ghaddafi from power. With so many first responders, including young soldiers, streaming in to assist with recovering the bodies and clearing the wreckage, there became an immediate need in Lockerbie for food. Corrections? 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. Dark Elegy is the work of sculptor Suse Lowenstein of Long Island, whose son Alexander, then 21, was a passenger on the flight. Get email updates with the day's biggest stories. Of the 270 total fatalities, 190 were American citizens and 43 were British citizens. The captain, first officer, flight engineer, a flight attendant and several first-class passengers were found still strapped to their seats inside the nose section when it crashed in Tundergarth. Megrahi 'hero's welcome' triggers a diplomatic row, "Brown, BP Cleared of Lobbying Scots to Free Bomber", Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi is 'in coma', "Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi dies in Tripoli", "The U.S. has taken custody of the alleged bomb maker in the 1988 Lockerbie attack", "U.S. Unseals Charges Against New Suspect in 1988 Lockerbie Bombing, and who is Mas'ud? Some 300 tons of wreckage were scattered over an area measuring 845 square miles, making the disaster also a crime scene of massive proportions. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Terrorism impacts all kinds of people, and its very personal and long lasting, said Kathryn Turman, the FBIs Victim Services Division assistant director. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. Ive never seen a law enforcement agency other than the Scottish police who did anything like this, Turman said. Megrahi is seen below a portrait of Gadhafi at Tripoli Medical Center in Libya. [34] A group of US intelligence specialists was on board the flight. Items of baby clothing, which were subsequently proven to have been made in Malta, were thought to have come from the same suitcase. Some of the 196 bodies found so far did contain shrapnel, he said. He survived for almost three more years. Retired Special Agent Dick Marquise was assigned to lead the FBIs investigation. At the time Ciulla was an executive working in the U.K. for Chase Manhattan Bank. On 23 September 2003, Megrahi applied to the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) for his conviction to be reviewed, and on 28 June 2007, the SCCRC announced its decision to refer the case to the High Court of Justiciary in Edinburgh after it found he "may have suffered a miscarriage of justice". It was like it was made of butter, and it was dripping.. He was released from prison on compassionate grounds on 20 August 2009. Pan Am 103's casualties included 11 victims in the Scottish town of Lockerbie, who were struck by falling wreckage. The Guardian, 12 November 1994, page 6, "Cover-up claim as Lockerbie film screening is cancelled". "It was a young child under the age of five. Geographical boundaries were drawn into sectors, and a dedicated team was assigned to each. Another theory suggests the CIA prevented the suitcase containing the bomb from being searched. Mothers and fathers, grandparents, children as young as 2 months old, and college students returning home from a study abroad program lost their lives in what was the largest terrorist attack in American history until 9/11. Asked if Libya did not accept guilt, he said, "I agree with that." Pan Am Flight 103. Organize, control, distribute and measure all of your digital content. [citation needed], At 19:02:44, Alan Topp, the clearance delivery officer at Shanwick, transmitted its oceanic route clearance. Kchler described the decisions of the trial and appeal courts as a "spectacular miscarriage of justice". [39], Many of the passengers' relatives, most of them from the US, arrived there within days to identify the dead. For almost 30 years, a police officer who witnessed the aftermath of the Lockerbie bombing has been haunted by a single incident from a night of horror. A Libyan man accused of making the bomb which destroyed Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie 34 years ago is in United States custody, Scottish authorities . On board the aircraft were citizens of 21 countries, including 190 Americans. 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. 1 The disputed territory of Western Sahara is mostly occupied and administered by Morocco; the Polisario Front claims the territory in militating for the establishment an independ The documents are understood to relate to the Mebo MST-13 timer that allegedly detonated the PA103 bomb. Although two individuals were eventually arrested and tried under Scots law in a special court in the Netherlands, the case is still open and being actively investigated by the FBI and its Scottish partners. [93], Allegations have been made that the UK government and BP sought Al-Megrahi's release as part of a trade deal with Libya. The Libyan government eventually agreed to pay damages to the families of the victims of the attack. I think thats one of the things that I admire most about them.. 270 people were killed, including 11 people in the town. Omissions? And Government files kept secret until now reveal that security service agents thought the families were getting organised and needed careful watching. Another 11 people died when the wreckage fell onto the Scottish town, Colin Dorrance (centre) is taking part in the fundraising bike ride to mark the 30th anniversary of the Lockerbie disaster. This has always been regarded as a joint investigation with our FBI colleagues, said Stuart Cossar, the Police Scotland investigator. Investigators from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) concluded that no emergency procedures had been started in the cockpit. [161] This play has received the Silver Medal from the Onassis International Playwriting Competition and the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays award. I left my office that night, he said, and I didn't get back there for three years., From the outset, the Scottish police treated the disaster as a crime scene and preserved everything that might be evidence. SUNY Oswego also gives out scholarships in memorial of Colleen Brunner to a student who is studying abroad. They were mostly American, many were British, but they were also from the Philippines, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Canada, all over. 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. We continue to do that.. Air traffic control tried to make contact with the flight, with no response. [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. A lot of the people that we believe were involved in this are deceased, but there are others we know are alive. Still, he added, the FBI has a very long memory.. It said activities of victims relatives would need careful watching. I got an expert in to confirm I was being listened to. It was one of the most satisfying experiences of my career, Turman said. The FBI, the Justice Department, no one really had much of a program of assistance in 1988 when Pan Am 103 happened, Turman said. In August 2009, he was released by the Scottish government on compassionate grounds after being diagnosed with prostate cancer. [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.
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