The Pan Am Flight 103 air crash investigation began on December 21, 1988, shortly after seven o'clock in the evening in the small village of Lockerbie in the county of Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The village is accessible by highway A74(M). There is a golf course nearby, a train station and King Edward Park.
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.
A few days before the crash, on December 18, the American embassies in Russia and Finland had issued warnings that a terrorist attack was planned on a Pan American airliner traveling from Frankfurt to the United States. Although the airline and the relevant police departments had been notified of the warning, it was not broadly broadcast to prospective passengers. Among the people who were supposed to be on the flight but changed their minds or were prevented at the last minute were South African foreign minister Pik Botha, Indian mechanic Jaswant Basuta (initially considered a suspect) and popular US singing group, the Four Tops.
Records showed that an unaccompanied piece of luggage had been routed from Malta to Frankfurt, where it was loaded onto the feeder flight to London, Pan Am 103A. Police later discovered that the only person ever convicted of the bombing, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, had also boarded that same flight. This was believed to be the suitcase that contained the bomb. Security was later tightened at small airports all around the world.
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.
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.
After a trial that lasted nine months, al-Megrahi was convicted and sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum of 27 years. In 2008, it was announced that he was suffering from terminal cancer of the prostate. In an extremely controversial decision, Scottish Justice Secretary, Kenny MacAskill, allowed him out of prison on compassionate grounds and he was flown home to Libya. There was a massive public outcry on both sides of the Atlantic. To many observers, the Libyan people rubbed salt into the wounds by giving al-Megrahi a hero's welcome.
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.
A few days before the crash, on December 18, the American embassies in Russia and Finland had issued warnings that a terrorist attack was planned on a Pan American airliner traveling from Frankfurt to the United States. Although the airline and the relevant police departments had been notified of the warning, it was not broadly broadcast to prospective passengers. Among the people who were supposed to be on the flight but changed their minds or were prevented at the last minute were South African foreign minister Pik Botha, Indian mechanic Jaswant Basuta (initially considered a suspect) and popular US singing group, the Four Tops.
Records showed that an unaccompanied piece of luggage had been routed from Malta to Frankfurt, where it was loaded onto the feeder flight to London, Pan Am 103A. Police later discovered that the only person ever convicted of the bombing, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, had also boarded that same flight. This was believed to be the suitcase that contained the bomb. Security was later tightened at small airports all around the world.
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.
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.
After a trial that lasted nine months, al-Megrahi was convicted and sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum of 27 years. In 2008, it was announced that he was suffering from terminal cancer of the prostate. In an extremely controversial decision, Scottish Justice Secretary, Kenny MacAskill, allowed him out of prison on compassionate grounds and he was flown home to Libya. There was a massive public outcry on both sides of the Atlantic. To many observers, the Libyan people rubbed salt into the wounds by giving al-Megrahi a hero's welcome.
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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