"[51], In December 2013, the original prime suspects in the bombing were revealed to have been the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine General Command (PFLP-GC), a Syria-based group led by Ahmed Jibril. At this point, the Clipper Maid of the Seas was flying at 31,000 feet (9,400m) on a heading of 316 magnetic, and at a speed of 313kn (580km/h; 360mph) calibrated airspeed. . Nothing could have prepared you.. The perpetrators had apparently intended the plane to crash into the sea, destroying any traceable evidence, but its explosion over land left a trail of evidence.[56]. [101] Beginning at the age of 22 in 1973, he began working with bombs for the Libyan intelligence service for the next 38 years. All Rights Reserved. The rear fuselage of the plane, where many of them sat, destroyed one of the houses of Rosebank Crescent, 71 Park Place, the home of Lockerbie resident Ella Ramsden, who survived. 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. Frank Granito of Speiser Krause noted that "the rewards in the US are more substantial than anywhere else in the world but nobody has questioned the fee whilst the work has been going on, it is only now as we approach a resolution when the criticism comes your way. [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. That was a tall order, considering that assisting federal crime victims at all was a fairly new concept. 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. In 2001, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, a Libyan intelligence officer, was jailed for life after being found guilty of 270 counts of murder in connection with the bombing. [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. [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. The nose cone was briefly held on by a band of metal, but facing aft, like the lid of a can. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. He died on May 20, 2012. It offered us so much comfort to know that he had been looked after.. The family groups stated goals are to discover the truth about the bombing and to seek justice for their loved ones, to make sure the airline industry maintains and improves safety, to educate the public about Pan Am Flight 103, and to support one another. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. [69], The Lockerbie judgment stated: .mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 40px}.mw-parser-output .templatequote .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0}, From the evidence which we have discussed so far, we are satisfied that it has been proved that the primary suitcase containing the explosive device was dispatched from Malta, passed through Frankfurt, and was loaded onto PA103 at Heathrow. 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. 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. Also aboard was Irish Olympic sailor Peter Dix[29] and rock musician Paul Jeffreys and his wife. On 2 September 2009, former MEP Michael McGowan demanded that the UK government call for an urgent, independent inquiry led by the UN to find out the truth about Pan Am flight 103. With a total of 270 fatalities, it is the deadliest terrorist attack in the history of the United Kingdom, as well as its deadliest aviation disaster.[2]. Thursday 22 December 1988 was the first day of a changed Lockerbie. October 17, 1990. A key suspect in 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 270 people, the majority of them Americans, is in U.S. custody, officials confirmed Sunday. Suspected bomb-maker arrested in Lockerbie attack that killed 270 2:54 PM EST, Mon December 12, 2022. Some of the wreckage of Pan Am Flight 103 after it crashed onto the town of Lockerbie, Scotland, on December 21, 1988. Boards are the best place to save images and video clips. They dont understand why we are reluctant to disclose information about the investigation.. the Lockerbie bombing killed . Out Of The Lockerbie Bombing, A Bond And A 'Letter Of Note' - NPR.org November 2018: It announces there was no criminality in way investigation was handled. At Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, a memorial cairn constructed of 270 stonesone for each of the victims of Pan Am Flight 103 who came from 21 different countriesis the sight of an annual service on the anniversary of the disaster, December 21. Looking back and acting forward, thats our motto, said Katie Berrell, a Remembrance Scholar who represents her uncle. Heres what you need to know about the deadliest terrorist attack to have taken place in the United Kingdom. More than 10,000 pieces of debris were retrieved, tagged, and entered into a computer tracking system. [147], In an interview with Swedish newspaper Expressen on 23 February 2011, Mustafa Abdul Jalil, former Justice Secretary of Libya, claimed to have evidence that Gaddafi personally ordered Al-Megrahi to carry out the bombing. It really wasnt until the two Libyans were handed over for trial that the plight of the families came back up. 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. The night of the disaster, Smith was at home with his father in Sherwood Crescent, settled in for what was supposed to be a quiet evening. The Dumfries and Galloway Constabularythen the smallest mainland police force in the United Kingdom, with fewer than two dozen of its approximately 300 officers serving Lockerbietook command of the scene. 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. [123], Quotes: "[Jalil] told Expressen Khadafy [sic] gave the order to Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, the only man convicted in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed all 259 people on board and 11 on the ground on 21 December 1988. "[144], In an interview shown in BBC Two's The Conspiracy Files: Lockerbie[145] on 31 August 2008, Saif Gaddafi said that Libya had admitted responsibility for the Lockerbie bombing simply to get trade sanctions removed. 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. In September 2009, a third petition which was addressed to the President of the United Nations General Assembly demanded that the UN should "institute a full public inquiry" into the Lockerbie disaster. Kreindler argued that the fees were justified, since "Over the past seven years we have had a dedicated team working tirelessly on this and we deserve the contingency fee we have worked so hard for, and I think we have provided the relatives with value for money. 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. [19] One of the Frankfurt security screeners, whose job was to spot explosive devices under X-ray, told ABC News that she had first learned what Semtex (a plastic explosive) was during her ABC interview 11 months after the bombing. [136], On 24 February 2004, Libyan Prime Minister Shukri Ghanem stated in a BBC Radio 4 interview that his country had paid the compensation as the "price for peace" and to secure the lifting of sanctions. "The mystery if that's what you want to call it was laid to rest.". Investigations were soon launched in the United . Its still an open case, and I know the FBI is still working with the Scottish Crown Office. [65], In October 2015, Scottish prosecutors announced that they wanted to interview two Libyan nationals, whom they had identified as new suspects, over the bombing. 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. 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. Colin Dorrance was on duty outside the town hall when a farmer drove down from the hills in a pick-up truck with debris from Pan Am 103 and, placed in the front seat, the body of a young girl. Yet the sample he was asked to identify at the trial was a green 9-ply circuit board that Mebo had indeed supplied to Libya. In many ways, the reverberations are still being felt today. Both of the accused chose not to give evidence in court. 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 Five weeks before this warning, Jibril's right-hand man, Haffez Dalkamoni, had been arrested in Frankfurt with a known bomb-maker, Marwen Khreesat. The following year, Libya agreed to pay $2.7 billion in compensation to families of those killed paving the way for UN sanctions against the country to be lifted. Act as a Spokesperson In case of an emergency, one person should take primary responsibility to speak on behalf of the entire organization to eliminate conflicting messages and to prevent the spread of misinformation. In 1991, former FBI Director Robert Mueller was the assistant attorney general at the Department of Justice, and he was in charge of the Lockerbie investigation. The bombing, believed to be carried out by Libyan intelligence officers in retaliation for U.S. actions against then-Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, was a transformative event for the FBI, one that changed the way the Bureau investigates terrorism and assists victims of crimes. January 2001: Al-Megrahi gets life. In 1999, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi handed over the two men for trial at Camp Zeist, the Netherlands, after protracted negotiations and UN sanctions. The Scottish town of Lockerbie in the aftermath of the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 in December 1988. In what was described as a milestone in Scottish legal history, Lord Cullen granted the BBC permission in January 2002 to televise the appeal, and to broadcast it on the Internet in English with a simultaneous Arabic translation. 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.. Lockerbie Disaster: When was Pan Am Flight 103 bombing, who were the Accused Pan Am Flight 103 bomber brought to US, but Shrewsbury mom says Pan Am Flight 103 Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images In October 2015, Scottish officials announced that two additional Libyans had been identified as suspects in the bombing. The ceremony also honors 2002-03 Lockerbie Scholar Andrew McClune, who died in 2002. The FBI has been a constant presence, said Mary Kay Stratis, a New Jersey resident who lost her husband, Elia, on Pan Am Flight 103 and who is board chair of the victims group. 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. According to a CIA analysis dated 22 December 1988, several groups were quick to claim responsibility in telephone calls in the United States and Europe: The list's author noted, "We consider the claims from the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution as the most credible one received so far," but the analysis concluded, "We cannot assign responsibility for this tragedy to any terrorist group at this time. The victim assistance plan Turman and her team established for the trial would greatly inform the U.S. governments future policy toward victims of terrorism and other federal crimes. A bomb aboard the plane detonated over the Scottish town of Lockerbie .