CNN reporter Nic Robertson said he was "just a shell of the man he once was" and was surviving on oxygen and an intravenous drip. December 21 is the winter solstice, the darkest day of the year. Mum had been so worried about him dying alone in the cold of the Scottish countryside. [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. Al Jalil's commentary to the Expressen came during widespread political unrest and protests in Libya calling for the removal of Ghaddafi from power. [28] James Fuller, an American automotive executive who worked for Volkswagen, was returning home from a meeting with Volkswagen executives in Germany. This mother tragically lost her son in the bombing of the Pan Am Flight 103. [98] In December 2022, the United States government obtained custody of 71-year-old Mas'ud. 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. 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. And, most devastating of all, there were 259 bodies. Forty minutes into the flight, the plane had reached the coast of Scotland. 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. The couple then kept watch over him for 24 hours and even asked rescue teams if they could take him into their home, away from the biting cold. Subsequent analysis of the radar returns by RSRE concluded that the aircraft was tracking 321 (grid) and travelling at a ground speed of 803km/h (499mph; 434kn). 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. We are dealing with people from all over the world who dont understand the Scottish legal system. It is, as we have said, clear that with one exception, the clothing in the primary suitcase was the clothing purchased in Mr Gauci's shop on 7 December 1988. I actually saw a wrought iron gate melting. Megrahi's lawyers applied to the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) on 23 September 2003 to have his case referred back to the Court of Criminal Appeal for a fresh appeal against conviction. The Scottish Government had already rejected an independent inquiry, saying it lacks the constitutional power to examine the international dimensions of the case.[121]. Fragments of a Samsonite suitcase believed to have contained the bomb were recovered, together with parts and pieces of circuit board identified as components of a Toshiba 'Bombeat' RT-SF16, radio cassette player, similar to that used to conceal a Semtex bomb seized by West German police from the Palestinian militant group PLO-GC two months earlier. There, on a hilltop next to a memorial cairn constructed of 270 stonesone for each of the victims and a permanent reminder of the devastation caused by terrorismthe names of the dead will be spoken. They were only boys.. The work consists of 43 nude statues of the wives and mothers who lost a husband or a child. Showing Editorial results for pan am flight 103. I think the bigger message is that this was an act of terrorism. Suddenly there was a tremendous crash outside, and the neighborhood was ablaze. 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. 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. [20]:44 Due to the extreme flutter, the vertical stabilizer disintegrated, which in turn produced large yawing movements. They made it to the courtroom 10 minutes before the verdicts were read. Investigators from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) concluded that no emergency procedures had been started in the cockpit. Airlines bent over backwards to book people on overnight flights. For the families of the victims of Pan Am Flight 103, Lockerbie and its residents will forever hold a place in their hearts. Oliver Revell, the FBI's Executive Assistant Director, was assigned to advise and assist PCAST in their task.[130]. Megrahi is seen below a portrait of Gadhafi at Tripoli Medical Center in Libya. [1/5] A December 23, 1988 file photo shows Scottish rescue workers and crash investigators search the area around the cockpit of Pan Am flight 103 in a farmer's field east of Lockerbie, Scotland . I am one of the signatories. The 259 people on board the New York-bound Boeing 747 are killed, along with . Theres a saying that the dead are still with us as long as someone speaks their name, Turman said. Thirty-five Syracuse students returning home from a study abroad program were killed on the flight, and the university vowed never to forget them. 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. She didn't realize at first what was . Last edited on 25 February 2023, at 21:49, terrorist attack in the history of the United Kingdom, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (General Command), Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, Directorate-General for External Security, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine General Command, Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission, President of the United Nations General Assembly, List of accidents and incidents involving commercial aircraft, 1933 United Airlines Boeing 247 mid-air explosion, "Clipper Maid of the Seas: Remembering those on flight 103", "Colonel Gaddafi 'ordered Lockerbie bombing", "Libya ready to accept responsibility for Lockerbie bombing", "Lockerbie investigators 'question former Stasi agents', "US unveils new charges against the suspect in 1988 Lockerbie bombing", "Lockerbie bombing suspect in US custody", "Photo: N739PA (CN: 19646) Boeing 747-121 by Jon Proctor Photoid:5894156 - JetPhotos.Net", "Pan Am Jet Crashes in Scotland, Killing at Least 273", "Diamonds in the Sky EP04 Aviation travel industry history series Conquering the Atlantic", "Court told how jet's radar blip broke up at 7.02pm", "UK | Lockerbie pair 'could have survived', "PaulJeffreys.com: website in the memory of Paul Jeffreys", "Honoring DS Fallen: Ronald Albert Lariviere", "EverythingPanAm.com The Virtual Pan Am Museum", "Lockerbie and the worst Christmas imaginable", "Pan Am Flight 103's Victims: A list of Those Killed 25 Years Ago", "Lockerbie: The town scarred by Pan Am flight 103", "Report of the President's Commission on Aviation Safety and Terrorism", "Muammar Gaddafi ordered Lockerbie bombing, says Libyan minister", "Khadaffi gav order om Lockerbie-attentatet [Gaddafi ordered the Lockerbie bombing]", "Libya rebel leader: I have evidence Gaddafi ordered Lockerbie", Gareth Pierce,24 September 2009, London Review of Books, "Secret CIA testimony identifies real Lockerbie mastermind", "Iran denies new Lockerbie bombing claims | SBS News", "US paid reward to Lockerbie witness, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi papers claim", "Scottish Panel Challenges Lockerbie Conviction", Report on Identification Procedures: Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi v. H.M. Advocate, "FBI offered me $4m: Lockerbie bomb witness", SCCRC Referral of Megrahi case for 2nd appeal, "Two new Lockerbie bombing suspects identified BBC News", "New Charges in Pan Am Flight 103 Bombing", "Lockerbie bombing suspect is now in US custody, Scottish authorities say", "Verdict of the Scottish Court in the Netherlands, 31 January 2001 from the official transcript", "Dr Hans Kchler's statement, August 2003", "Dr Hans Kchler's statement, October 2005", "Double standards in criminal justice: Pan Am Flight 103 v. HIV trial in Libya", "SCCRC refers Megrahi's case for second appeal", "SCCRC decides "a miscarriage of justice may have occurred", "Statement by Dr Hans Kchler on SCCRC decision, 29 June 2007", Lockerbie trial: an intelligence operation? It was on such a trip on Friday that Colin finally discovered who the child was. 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 plane, which operated the flight's transatlantic leg, pushed back from the terminal at 18:04 and took off from runway 27R at 18:25, bound for New York JFK Airport and then Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport. The approach was to make sure that families have information, make sure they have support, make sure we take their needs seriously and help them get through one of the most horrible things that can happen to somebody., Today, it is standard procedure for what is now the FBIs Victim Services Division to clean and return personal effects to victims of crimes. The emotional impact of handling all those personal itemsa 2-year-olds dress, wrapped Christmas presents, a pilots uniformis an experience that has stayed with them. [53] In 2014, an Iranian ex-spy asserted that Iran ordered the attack. 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. The defence team had 14 days in which to appeal against Megrahi's conviction, and an additional six weeks to submit the full grounds of the appeal. For the hijacking in Karachi, see, Abu Agila Mohammad Mas'ud Kheir Al-Marimi. We all laid roses at the tree Hugh and Margaret had planted at the spot where they found dad and went to see the memorial in the town. 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. [Oliver_ FBI's Oliver "Buck" Revell served as Advisor to PCAST]. Geographical boundaries were drawn into sectors, and a dedicated team was assigned to each. [77] The SCCRC's decision was based on facts set out in an 800-page report that determined that "a miscarriage of justice may have occurred". Boards are the best place to save images and video clips. Dr Jim Swire, 82, whose daughter Flora died in the bombing, said: We deserve to know who murdered our loved ones and why it was not prevented.. Now, in their verdant peacefulness, they tell the story of a remarkable transatlantic friendship that blossomed out of a terrifying nightmare. On Dalkamoni's account bombs made by Khreesat were at large somewhere. [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. [61], Known as the Lockerbie bombing and the Lockerbie air disaster in the UK, it was described by Scotland's Lord Advocate as the UK's largest criminal inquiry led by the smallest police force in Britain, Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary.[62]. We cannot say that it is impossible that the clothing might have been taken from Malta, united somewhere with a timer from some source other than Libya and introduced into the airline baggage system at Frankfurt or Heathrow. He became a senior investigating officer on the case and was the person who arrested al-Megrahi and Fhimah. The New York-bound Boeing 747, named Maid of the Seas, was passing five miles above the . We wanted to do justice by these families.. The firm's fees could exceed US$300million eventually. [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. Dec. 21, 1988: Pan Am Flight 103 explodes 31,000 feet over Lockerbie, Scotland, 38 minutes after takeoff from London. The fuselage continued moving forward and down until it reached 19,000ft (5,800m), when its dive became nearly vertical. For the FBI, Pan Am Flight 103 was a watershed event. This thing happened, and its our job to share it with other people in a meaningful way, she said. While no doubt organisations such as the PFLP-GC and the PPSF were also engaged in terrorist activities during the same period, we are satisfied that there was no evidence from which we could infer that they were involved in this particular act of terrorism, and the evidence relating to their activities does not create a reasonable doubt in our minds about the Libyan origin of this crime.[70]. When the disaster occurred, Bells Glasgow desk contained files of all the cases he was working on. It was heartbreaking. The Lockerbie bombing took place on December 21, 1988, when Pan Am Flight 103 was blown out of the sky. [37] The other Lockerbie residents who died were two widows aged 82 and 81, who also both lived in Sherwood Crescent; they were the two oldest victims of the disaster. The Connells had even asked to take dad in to the warm but were told they couldnt because evidence was still being collected. Looking back and acting forward, thats our motto, said Katie Berrell, a Remembrance Scholar who represents her uncle. 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. 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 lecture, "It was known as the place where nothing ever happens. [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. 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. He went on to describe the families of the Lockerbie victims as very greedy: "They were asking for more money and more money and more money". 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. Five years later, on December 21, 2020,US Attorney General William Barr announced criminal charges against former Libyan intelligence officer Abu Agila Mohammad Masud Kheir Al-Marimi in relation to the Lockerbie attack. August 2009: Cancer victim al-Megrahi freed on compassionate grounds. 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.. The signatories considered that a UN inquiry could help remove "many of the deep misgivings which persist in lingering over this tragedy" and could also eliminate Malta from this terrorist act. Bryony Owen and her mum Yvonne both died in the bombing, Colin Dorrance pictured now and during his earlier days in the force. [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. [105], The motive that is generally attributed to Libya can be traced back to a series of military confrontations with the US Navy that took place in the 1980s in the Gulf of Sidra, the whole of which Libya claimed as its territorial waters. The FBI, the Justice Department, no one really had much of a program of assistance in 1988 when Pan Am 103 happened, Turman said. Abu Agila Mohammad Mas'ud Kheir Al-Marimi was said to be the "third conspirator" behind the downing of Pan Am flight 103 in 1988. [88][89] On 20 August 2009, Megrahi was released from prison and travelled by chartered jet to Libya. Demands for such an inquiry emerged later, and became more insistent. [150], In 1992, a US federal court found Pan Am guilty of willful misconduct due to lax security screening caused by not implementing baggage reconciliation, a new security program mandated by the FAA prior to the incident, which requires unaccompanied luggage to be searched by hand and to ensure passengers board flights onto which they have checked baggage; Pan Am relied more on the less-effective method of x-ray screening. Karen Gass was 26 years old at the time. Fhimah is cleared. In 2003, Gaddafi accepted Libya's responsibility for the Lockerbie bombing and paid compensation to the families of the victims, although he maintained that he had never given the order for the attack. The aircraft's elevator- and rudder-control cables had been disrupted and the fuselage pitched downwards and to the left.[24]. [146] Several of the victims families refused to accept compensation due to their belief that Libya was not responsible. About 7:00 pm on December 21, Pan Am flight 103, a Boeing 747 en route to New York City from London, exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland. [22] The rear fuselage, parts of the baggage hold, and three landing gear units landed at Rosebank Crescent. During Remembrance Week, all the scholars speak for the victims during a rose-laying ceremony at a memorial in the center of campus. The US Defense Intelligence Agency alleges that Ali Akbar Mohtashamipur (Ayatollah Mohtashemi), a member of the Iranian government, paid US$10million for the bombing: Ayatollah Mohtashemi: () and was the one who paid the same amount to bomb Pan Am Flight 103 in retaliation for the 310.[127]. Many of them come up here for Remembrance Week. At 18:58, the aircraft established two-way radio contact with Shanwick Oceanic Area Control in Prestwick on 123.95MHz. December 2010: Leaked secret US cables reveal UK faced Libyan threats if al-Megrahi died in jail. 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. He had carried the child into the town hall. Lockerbie bombing suspect in US custody. One of the British relatives, Martin Cadman, alleges that a member of President Bush's staff told him: "Your government and ours know exactly what happened but they are never going to tell. [104] The letter stated that it "accepted responsibility for the actions of its officials". The clear inference which we draw from this evidence is that the conception, planning and execution of the plot which led to the planting of the explosive device was of Libyan origin. [133][132], On 15 August 2003, Libya's UN ambassador, Ahmed Own, submitted a letter to the UN Security Council formally accepting "responsibility for the actions of its officials" in relation to the Lockerbie bombing. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. Shortly after finishing his longtime run at the job, Mas'ud was arrested and imprisoned in Misurata, Libya before being moved to Al-Hadba prison in Tripoli, which happened shortly after the fall of Colonel el-Qaddafi in 2011. Theres no other place we feel as connected to him as on the farm. A terrorist bomb destroyed the airliner on 21 December, 1988, killing all 259 passengers and crew on board. Laurie, 49, says: Mum called Hugh and Margaret. The United States Crime Victims Fund paid for travel for two family members per victim to attend the trial in the Netherlands for approximately a week, or to visit one of the closed-circuit sites. I want you to be able to do for victims, particularly terrorism victims, what you did with Pan Am 103, Turman recalled. 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