Victoria Cummock's husband was among the 259 passengers who died after a bomb exploded on Pan Am Flight 103 on Dec. 21, 1988, just north of the England-Scotland border. 2023 Cable News Network. Discovery Company. Gaddafi later retracted Ghanem's comments, under pressure from Washington and London. Lockerbie victim's grandkids' friendship with farmers who found his 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. And He Wants to Take Libya Back", "African Manipulations: Tainted Evidence of Libyan Terrorism", "Oliver "Buck" Revell speaks for International Speakers Bureau", "Libya offers $2.7billion Pan Am 103 settlement", "Security Council lifts sanctions imposed on Libya after terrorist bombings of Pan Am Flight 103 and UTA Flight 772", "Lockerbie lawyer says 200m fee is 'good value', Saif al-Gaddafi says "Libyans are innocent" of the Pan Am Flight 103 and UTA Flight 772 bombings, "Gaddafi's son attacks "greedy" Lockerbie relatives in BBC Two documentary", "Khadafy ordered Lockerbie bombing, says Libyan minister", "The Influence Game: Lobbyists who aided families of Pan Am bombing victims earn $2million fee", The night fire and victims rained on Lockerbie, "Cornell professorship funded by $3.8 million Libyan payment for student killed in Lockerbie bombing", "The Women of Lockerbie Deborah Brevoort", "Google Streetview Sherwood Crescent Memorial", "Lockerbie disaster Pan am flight 103 remains lie forgotten in a Lincolnshire scrapyard", "Authentic Pan Am 103 cockpit wreck photo", "Lockerbie wreckage parts returned to Scotland", The Scottish indictment against Megrahi and Fhimah, The U.S. indictment against Megrahi and Fhimah, "No:2/9 Boeing 747-121, N739PA, at Lockerbie, Dumfriesshire, Scotland", Graphic of how the aircraft was destroyed, United Nations Security Council Resolution 731 (1992), United Nations Security Council Resolution 748 (1992), United Nations Security Council Resolution 883 (1993), "Lessons from Lockerbie, ten years later", "Lockerbie, 10 years on: Reporter's reflections", "Libya offers $2.7billion Lockerbie settlement", "Scottish Court in the Netherlands 20002002", Pan Am 103 Lockerbie Air Disaster Archives, Aircraft Accident Report 2/1990 Report on the accident to Boeing 747-121, N739PA, at Lockerbie, Dumfriesshire, Scotland on 21 December 1988, 2/1990 Aircraft Accident Report 2/1990, Appendices AG, Defense Intelligence Agency Redacted Pan Am Report, "It Happened in Lockerbie 20 August 09 Part 1", International observer mission of the president of the International Progress Organization, Dr. Hans Koechler, at the Scottish Court in the Netherlands ("Lockerbie Court"), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pan_Am_Flight_103&oldid=1141600700, A male caller claimed that a group called the "Guardians of the Islamic Revolution" had destroyed the plane in retaliation for. * On Jan. 31, 2001, a three-judge Scottish court at a former U.S. base in the . "[20]:16, All 243 passengers and 16 crew members were killed, as were 11 residents of Lockerbie on the ground. Falling wreckage destroyed 21 houses and killed an additional 11 people on the ground. He died on May 20, 2012. Remembering Pan Am Flight 103 FBI - Federal Bureau Of Investigation Access the best of Getty Images with our simple subscription plan. The blast broke the plane into thousands of pieces that landed in an area covering roughly 850 square miles (2,200 square km). [148], On 5 December 2003, Jim Kreindler revealed that his Park Avenue law firm would receive an initial contingency fee of around US$1million from each of the 128 American families Kreindler represents. U.S. charges Libyan man in 1988 Pan Am Flight 103 bombing Iran's involvement is alleged, either in association with a Palestine militant group, or in loading the bomb while the plane was at Heathrow. "[48][49], Muammar Gaddafi took responsibility for the Lockerbie bombing and paid compensation to the victims' families in 2003, though he maintained that he had not ordered the attack. At 18, Colin Dorrance was the youngest police officer on duty that night and has never forgotten the child who was brought to him by the farmer. 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. The first thing was to really try to understand what the families wanted and expected, she explained. Although the passengers aboard the plane came from 21 countries, the majority of them were Americans, and the attack increased terrorism fears in the United States. First Officer Raymond R. Wagner (52), a pilot with Pan Am since 1966 with almost 5,500 hours in the 747 and a total of nearly 12,000 hours, had previously served eight years in the New Jersey National Guard. 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. 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]. What really happened on Flight 103? | Lockerbie plane - The Guardian 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. Syracuse University Remembrance Scholars took their seats on the Quad at noon for 35 minutes, honoring the 35 students killed in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Unseen Lockerbie photos taken by a man haunted by a young woman's body Looking back, it was building those relationships that allowed us to come together to share information that led to an eventual solution in the case.. Today, present and former scholars number more than 1,000. It offered us so much comfort to know that he had been looked after.. . Pan Am Flight 103: The story of the UK's deadliest terror attack On December 21, 1988, the State of Libya bombed Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 innocent civilians. We had to have another look at ourselves and decide we are not simply dealing with people from Scotland, from the United Kingdom, McCulloch said. Johnson, who also serves on the board of Victims of Pan Am Flight 103, Inc., has dedicated his life to doing good works in his daughters memory and to advocating for airline safety. The Scottish court agreed, allowing a live feed of the trial to two sites in the United Kingdomone in Scotland and one in Londonand a delayed, taped feed broadcast to locations in New York and Washington, D.C. Pan Am Flight 103 - Wikipedia 270 people were killed, including 11 people in the town. [142] In October 2008 Libya paid $1.5billion into a fund which will be used to compensate relatives of the, As a result, President Bush signed Executive Order 13477 restoring the Libyan government's immunity from terror-related lawsuits and dismissing all of the pending compensation cases in the US, the White House said. [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. 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. 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. Some passengers may have remained alive briefly after impact; a pathologist's report concluded that at least two of these passengers might have survived if they had been found soon enough.[26][19][27]. Thirty-five students studying abroad with Syracuse University were struck down from the sky on Pan Am Flight 103 on December 21, 1988, along with 224 other passengers and eleven Lockerbie residents, victims of a terrorist bombing. He claims he was visited by two journalists who were security agents. In all, 270 souls perished. Pan Am Flight 103 was a regularly scheduled Pan Am transatlantic flight from Frankfurt to Detroit via a stopover in London and another in New York City. . Mum had been so worried about him dying alone in the cold of the Scottish countryside. Loved Ones Remember Victims Lockerbie Bombing; Suspect in Custody [55], The initial investigation into the crash site by Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary involved many helicopter surveys, satellite imaging, and a search of the area by police and soldiers. [74][75][76], On 28 June 2007, the SCCRC announced its decision to refer Megrahi's case to the High Court for a second appeal against conviction. DUMFRIES, Scotland (AP) _ Two passengers might have survived the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 had they received the best medical care immediately, a Scottish pathologist testified Wednesday. 2 Passengers On Flight 103 Might Have Survived, Pathologist Says It would have been Dads 75th too this year, and with the anniversary coming up, we thought it was a good time to introduce the children to what happened to their grandfather. 'To hide it, he (Khadafy) did everything in his power to get al-Megrahi back from Scotland,' Abdel-Jalil was quoted as saying."[148]. "[79] Kchler also highlighted the role of intelligence services in the trial and stated that proper judicial proceedings could not be conducted under conditions in which extrajudicial forces are allowed to intervene. Why Alex Murdaugh was spared the death penalty, Why Trudeau is facing calls for a public inquiry, The shocking legacy of the Dutch 'Hunger Winter', Why half of India's urban women stay at home. Lockerbie bombing: 'What really brought it home was when you were [122], On 23 February 2011, amidst the Libyan Civil War, Mustafa Abdul Jalil, former Libyan Justice Minister (and later member and Chairman of the anti-Gaddafi National Transitional Council), alleged that he had evidence that Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, had personally ordered Abdelbaset al-Megrahi to bomb Pan Am Flight 103. 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.. He'd gone to the farm where the body of 21-year-old student Lynne Hartunian was found, along with many other passengers from the plane. Ex-air accident investigator reveals he saw lifeless bodies of The Lockerbie bombing: What you need to know | Reuters [128][129], On 29 September 1989, President Bush appointed Ann McLaughlin Korologos, former Secretary of Labor, to chair the President's Commission on Aviation Security and Terrorism (PCAST) to review and report on aviation security policy in the light of the sabotage of flight PA103. 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". Gaddafi blamed the defeat on French and US "aggression against Libya". Thirty years after the terrorist bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, the FBI and its partners are still actively seeking justice for the 270 victims and their families. "35 scholarships honor Lockerbie crash victims". The Sorrow Over Lockerbie (Flight 103) 747 Crash Bomb Pan Am. Another caller claimed the plane had been downed by Mossad, the Israeli intelligence service. That was a tall order, considering that assisting federal crime victims at all was a fairly new concept. Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much A series of test explosions was carried out to confirm the precise location and quantity of explosive used. We are dealing with people from all over the world who dont understand the Scottish legal system. More U.S. civilians died in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland than in any other terrorist attack except 9/11. [132], Jim Kreindler of the New York law firm Kreindler & Kreindler, which orchestrated the settlement, said: "These are uncharted waters. 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. I look forward to hearing your comments both to our group's letter and to the contents of this one. In July 2010 an investigation spurred by U.S. senators revealed that oil company BP had lobbied for a prisoner transfer agreement between the United Kingdom and Libya. It was one of the most satisfying experiences of my career, Turman said. On Wednesday 21 December, 1988, just after 7pm, Pan Am Flight 103 from London to New York exploded above the small Scottish town of Lockerbie, killing all 259 people on board and 11 people on the . [160], The Women of Lockerbie (2003) is a play written by Deborah Brevoort which depicts a woman from New Jersey roaming the hills of Lockerbie, Scotland. Former Libyan intelligence officer Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was . But at Arlington National Cemetery this year, some of their grandchildren will be in attendance. Mum started crying. Like many people in Lockerbie, Colin has formed a close bond with relatives of the American victims, taking them on tours of the area so they can better understand what happened to their loved ones. Nineteen other nationalities were represented, with four or fewer passengers per country. Pan Am Flight 103: A look back at the Lockerbie bombing On December 21, Pan Am 103 was beginning the second leg of its Frankfurt-London-New York-Detroit route. We continue to do that.. August 2009: Cancer victim al-Megrahi freed on compassionate grounds. [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. Just a minute later, according to a video . News4's Derrick Ward reports about what that means for loved ones of some of the local victims. The cabin crew was based at Heathrow and lived in the London area or commuted from around Europe. Terrific heat, he recalled. 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. [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. Airlines bent over backwards to book people on overnight flights. On 16 August 2003, Libya formally admitted responsibility for Pan Am Flight 103 in a letter presented to the president of the United Nations Security Council. Thirty years later, the chancellors promise is being kept. The bodies of two of these students were never recovered. Some relatives of the dead, including Lockerbie campaigner Jim Swire, believe the bomb was planted at Heathrow Airport, and not sent via feeder flights from Malta, as per the US and UK governments. Photos reveal forgotten remains of Lockerbie Pan Am plane | Daily Mail This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. This place is special. on whose farm outside Lockerbie bodies and wreckage rained down 34 years ago. 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. 53:52. There is a semicircular stone wall in the garden of remembrance with the names and nationalities of all the victims along with individual funeral stones and memorials. You could see how much time had passed. 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. So much of what we ended up doing for 9/11 families and others has come from lessons learned from the Pan Am 103 families, she said. Shortly after 19:00 on 21 December 1988, while the aircraft was in flight over the Scottish town of Lockerbie, it was destroyed by a bomb that had been planted on board, killing all 243 passengers and 16 crew in what became known as the Lockerbie bombing. The FAA sent it to all US carriers, including Pan Am, which had charged each of the passengers a $5 security surcharge, promising a "program that will screen passengers, employees, airport facilities, baggage, and aircraft with unrelenting thoroughness";[43] the security team in Frankfurt found the warning under a pile of papers on a desk the day after the bombing. Transcript of the trial of the Scottish court at Camp Zeist 2000, p. 59. "[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. By Katie Benner and Adam Goldman. It is the first time that any of the states designated as sponsors of terrorism have offered compensation to families of terror victims." The other 259 people aboard the aircraft died when the bomb blew apart the jetliner Dec. 21, 1988 or were killed by the 30,000-foot fall . BBC News | UK | Lockerbie pair 'could have survived' The U.S. arrest of Libyan man Abu Agila Mas'ud accused of making the bomb that exploded on board Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988 has renewed attention on the incident. May 2018: Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission probes Megrahis conviction. . Ten of these students were from other universities and colleges (including but not limited to Colgate University and University of Colorado) with collaborative relationships with Syracuse. The retired GP said: These two guys asked to meet me. In addition, the university annually awards 35 scholarships to seniors to honour each of the 35 students killed. All 259 people on board were killed, and 11 individuals on the ground also died. 49:41. We will never ever forget what they did for our father.. Syracuse Universitys Pan Am Flight 103/Lockerbie Air Disaster Archives, Remembering Pan Am Flight 103: 30 Years Later, Remembering Pan Am Flight 103: David Jardine, Remembering Pan Am Flight 103: George Stobbs, Remembering Pan Am Flight 103: Stuart Cossar, Remembering Pan Am Flight 103: Harry Bell, Remembering Pan Am Flight 103: Dick Marquise, Remembering Pan Am Flight 103: Kathryn Turman, Remembering Pan Am Flight 103: Tom McCullough, Remembering Pan Am Flight 103: The 'Laundry Ladies', Remembering Pan Am Flight 103: Alex Smith, Remembering Pan Am Flight 103: Graeme Galloway, Remembering Pan Am Flight 103: Katie Berrell, Remembering Pan Am Flight 103: Kara Weipz, Remembering Pan Am Flight 103: Mary Kay Stratis, Remembering Pan Am Flight 103: Carole Johnson, Remembering Pan Am Flight 103: Vanessa St. Oegger-Menn, FBI.gov is an official site of the U.S. Department of Justice. The firm's fees could exceed US$300million eventually. [15], On its arrival at Heathrow Terminal 3 on the day of the disaster, the passengers and their luggage (as well as an unaccompanied suitcase which was part of the interline luggage on the feeder flight) were transferred directly to Clipper Maid of the Seas, whose previous flight had originated in Los Angeles and arrived via San Francisco. [158] A memorial plaque and garden in memory of its two students lost in the bombing is set in the University of Rochester's Eastman Quadrangle. "University remembers Flight 103.