Almost a quarter of a century ago a small Scottish village became known throughout the world because of an act of terrorism. The name of that village was Lockerbie, and that terrorist act claimed 270 lives. The Jumbo Jet was just over half an hour into its flight, from London's Heathrow to New York's JFK, when an explosion took place. Following is an abbreviated look at the Pan Am flight 103 air crash investigation.
Due to the incident happening so high up, 31000 feet, the ensuing debris and wreckage landed over a vast area. The surveys had to be carried out by military helicopters as the area to be covered was so big, even satellite pictures were used. In an odd way a stroke of luck meant that the plane's departure at London was delayed. So instead of the wreckage falling out to sea it fell on land.
After finger tip searches more than ten thousand bits of debris were collected. Each one was listed and entered into a computer. Several major pieces came down on or near to this Scottish village. Two local boys found the black box voice recorder the next day near to some woods.
The whole proceedings involved more than a thousand people, and involved scouring large areas of southern Scotland for several months. The military became involved and helped with manpower and equipment. The local school's gymnasium was used as an initial collection point. Every item once logged was given an x-ray and scanned by a gas chromatograph.
In the early stages there were no clues about what had caused the incident. From material collected over the next couple of days it became clear that an explosion had occurred. Traces of a Semtex like substance were being detected. It is also claimed that pieces of an electronic timing device were located amongst the wreckage.
Through painstaking efforts by air accident investigators the fuselage was slowly reconstructed. It was discovered that a 20 inch square section of fuselage had been severely damaged by an explosion. This was in an area adjacent to the forward cargo hold.
The baggage containers from the hold were mainly damaged in a way consistent with a fall from a great height. However two also showed other unexplained damage. From the cargo loading records it was possible to pinpoint their positions within the hold. Over in America tests were being conducted to determine how much explosives, and the location, would cause identical blast damage.
Piece by piece it was possible for the investigators to state which piece of luggage held the explosive device. Also what it contained. From clothing labels they were able to narrow the point of origin to Malta. They were even able to interview the merchant who sold the clothes. In his statements he described, and later identified, the person who had bought the clothes.
The Pan Am flight 103 air crash investigation took more than 3 years to complete. Agencies from various countries assisted throughout, but it was mainly overseen by those from the UK and America. Thanks to their diligence the suspects were sent for trial, which was held in Holland.
Due to the incident happening so high up, 31000 feet, the ensuing debris and wreckage landed over a vast area. The surveys had to be carried out by military helicopters as the area to be covered was so big, even satellite pictures were used. In an odd way a stroke of luck meant that the plane's departure at London was delayed. So instead of the wreckage falling out to sea it fell on land.
After finger tip searches more than ten thousand bits of debris were collected. Each one was listed and entered into a computer. Several major pieces came down on or near to this Scottish village. Two local boys found the black box voice recorder the next day near to some woods.
The whole proceedings involved more than a thousand people, and involved scouring large areas of southern Scotland for several months. The military became involved and helped with manpower and equipment. The local school's gymnasium was used as an initial collection point. Every item once logged was given an x-ray and scanned by a gas chromatograph.
In the early stages there were no clues about what had caused the incident. From material collected over the next couple of days it became clear that an explosion had occurred. Traces of a Semtex like substance were being detected. It is also claimed that pieces of an electronic timing device were located amongst the wreckage.
Through painstaking efforts by air accident investigators the fuselage was slowly reconstructed. It was discovered that a 20 inch square section of fuselage had been severely damaged by an explosion. This was in an area adjacent to the forward cargo hold.
The baggage containers from the hold were mainly damaged in a way consistent with a fall from a great height. However two also showed other unexplained damage. From the cargo loading records it was possible to pinpoint their positions within the hold. Over in America tests were being conducted to determine how much explosives, and the location, would cause identical blast damage.
Piece by piece it was possible for the investigators to state which piece of luggage held the explosive device. Also what it contained. From clothing labels they were able to narrow the point of origin to Malta. They were even able to interview the merchant who sold the clothes. In his statements he described, and later identified, the person who had bought the clothes.
The Pan Am flight 103 air crash investigation took more than 3 years to complete. Agencies from various countries assisted throughout, but it was mainly overseen by those from the UK and America. Thanks to their diligence the suspects were sent for trial, which was held in Holland.
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