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62-440: In 1988, the agency was accused of causing the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie , Scotland , killing 270 people. The Intelligence Community under Interim Government: This Libya -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Pan Am Flight 103 Pan Am Flight 103 ( PA103/PAA103 ) was a regularly scheduled Pan Am transatlantic flight from Frankfurt to Detroit via

124-568: 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. Items of baby clothing, which were subsequently proven to have been made in Malta, were thought to have come from

186-576: A Semtex bomb. The timer was allegedly traced through its Swiss manufacturer, Mebo , to the Libyan military, and Mebo employee Ulrich Lumpert identified the fragment at al-Megrahi's trial. Mebo's owner, Edwin Bollier , testified at the trial that the Scottish police had originally shown him a fragment of a brown eight-ply circuit board from a prototype timer which had never been supplied to Libya. Yet

248-465: A "program that will screen passengers, employees, airport facilities, baggage, and aircraft with unrelenting thoroughness"; the security team in Frankfurt found the warning under a pile of papers on a desk the day after the bombing. 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)

310-667: A Libyan intelligence officer and the head of security for Libyan Arab Airlines (LAA), and Lamin Khalifah Fhimah , the LAA station manager in Luqa Airport , Malta. UN sanctions against Libya and protracted negotiations with Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi secured the handover of the accused on 5 April 1999 to Scottish police at Camp Zeist, the Netherlands, which was selected as a neutral venue for their trial. Both of

372-448: A crater 47 m (154 ft) long and with a volume of 560 m (20,000 cu ft; 730 cu yd). The property was completely destroyed and its two occupants were killed. Their bodies were never found. Several other houses and their foundations were destroyed, and 21 others were damaged beyond repair. A family of four was killed when their house at 15 Sherwood Crescent exploded. A couple and their daughter were killed by

434-455: A feeder flight at Frankfurt Airport , West Germany , using a Boeing 727 and the flight number PA103-A. Both Pan Am and Trans World Airlines routinely changed the type of aircraft operating different legs of a flight. PA103 was bookable as either a single Frankfurt–New York or a Frankfurt–Detroit itinerary, though a scheduled change of aircraft took place in London's Heathrow Airport. After

496-514: A flight attendant and several first-class passengers were found still strapped to their seats inside the nose section when it crashed in Tundergarth. A flight attendant was found alive by a farmer's wife, but died before help could be summoned. 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. Thirty-five of

558-512: A government employee. 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, 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. Some relatives of the dead, including Lockerbie campaigner Jim Swire , believe

620-460: A ground speed of 803 km/h (499 mph; 434 kn). At 19:02:44, Alan Topp, the airways controller at Scottish Air Traffic Control Centre , transmitted its oceanic route clearance on behalf of Shanwick. The aircraft did not acknowledge this message. Clipper Maid of the Seas ' "squawk" then flickered off. Air traffic control tried to make contact with the flight, with no response. Then

682-539: A huge fire on the ground. The explosion punched a 50 cm (20 in) hole on the left side of the fuselage. Investigators from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) concluded that no emergency procedures had been started in the cockpit. The CVR, located in the tail section of the aircraft, was found in a field by police searchers within 24 hours. No distress call was recorded; a 180-millisecond hissing noise could be heard as

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744-521: A known bomb-maker, Marwen Khreesat. "Later US intelligence officials confirmed that members of the group had been monitoring Pan Am's facilities at Frankfurt airport. On Dalkamoni's account bombs made by Khreesat were at large somewhere." A deep-cover CIA agent was told by up to 15 high-level Syrian officials that the PFLP-GC was involved and that officials interacted with Jibril "on a constant basis". In 2014, an Iranian ex-spy asserted that Iran ordered

806-523: A loud noise was recorded on the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) at 19:02:50. Five radar echoes fanning out appeared, instead of one. Comparison of the CVR to the radar returns showed that, eight seconds after the explosion, the wreckage had a 1-nautical-mile (1.9 km) spread. A British Airways pilot, flying the London–Glasgow shuttle near Carlisle , called Scottish authorities to report that he could see

868-545: A molecular biologist. and Jonathan White, 33, an American accountant, son of David White , American actor who played Larry Tate on Bewitched . Aboard the flight were Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) Special Agents Daniel Emmett O'Connor and Ronald Albert Lariviere. Matthew Gannon , the Central Intelligence Agency 's (CIA) deputy station chief in Beirut , Lebanon, was sitting in seat 14J, which

930-471: A parish priest of the town. Keegans' house at 1 Sherwood Crescent was the only one on the street that was not either destroyed by the impact or gutted by fire. According to a BBC article on the fire published in 2018, Keegans had gone upstairs to make sure that he had hidden his mother's Christmas present, and recalls, "Immediately after that, there was an enormous explosion". The same source claims that, following this, "the shaking stopped and to his surprise he

992-530: A stopover in London and another in New York City. The transatlantic leg of the route was operated by Clipper Maid of the Seas , a Boeing 747 registered N739PA. 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, killing all 243 passengers and 16 crew in what became known as the Lockerbie bombing . Large sections of

1054-623: 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. After a three-year joint investigation by Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary and the US FBI, during which 15,000 witness statements were taken, indictments for murder were issued on 13 November 1991 against Abdelbaset al-Megrahi ,

1116-856: The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) for his conviction to be reviewed, and on 28 June 2007, the SCCRC announced its decision to refer the case to the High Court of Justiciary in Edinburgh after it found he "may have suffered a miscarriage of justice". Megrahi served just over 10 years of his sentence (beginning 5 April 1999), first in Barlinnie prison, Glasgow, and later in Greenock prison, Renfrewshire, throughout which time he maintained that he

1178-653: The U.S. Navy and five years in the Massachusetts Air National Guard , where he held the rank of major. 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 . Flight Engineer Jerry D. Avritt (46), who joined Pan Am in 1980 after 13 years with National Airlines , had more than 8,000 hours of flying time, with nearly 500 hours in

1240-403: The 747. The cockpit crew was based at John F. Kennedy International Airport . Six of the 13 cabin crew members became naturalized U.S. citizens while working for Pan Am. The cabin crew was based at Heathrow and lived in the London area or commuted from around Europe. All were originally hired by Pan Am and seniority ranged from 9 months to 28 years. The captain, first officer, flight engineer,

1302-634: The British Department for Transport concluded that the nose of the aircraft was blown off and separated from the main fuselage within three seconds of the explosion. The nose cone was briefly held on by a band of metal, but facing aft, like the lid of a can. It then sheared off, up, and backwards to starboard, striking off the number-three engine and landing some distance outside the town, on a hill in Tundergarth. The fuselage continued moving forward and down until it reached 19,000 ft (5,800 m), when its dive became nearly vertical. Due to

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1364-524: The accused chose not to give evidence in court. On 31 January 2001, Megrahi was convicted of murder by a panel of three Scottish judges, and sentenced to life imprisonment, but Fhimah was acquitted. Megrahi's appeal against his conviction was refused on 14 March 2002, and his application to the European Court of Human Rights was declared inadmissible in July 2003. On 23 September 2003, Megrahi applied to

1426-757: The aircraft crashed in a residential street in Lockerbie, killing 11 residents. With a total of 270 fatalities, it is the deadliest terrorist attack in the history of the United Kingdom . Following a three-year joint investigation by Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), arrest warrants were issued for two Libyan nationals in November 1991. After protracted negotiations and United Nations sanctions, in 1999, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi handed over

1488-463: The aircraft showed transponder code , or "squawk", 0357 and flight level 310. At this point, the Clipper Maid of the Seas was flying at 31,000 feet (9,400 metres) on a heading of 316° magnetic, and at a speed of 313 kn (580 km/h; 360 mph) calibrated airspeed . Subsequent analysis of the radar returns by RSRE concluded that the aircraft was tracking 321° (grid) and traveling at

1550-422: The attack. 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. Acceptance of responsibility was part of a series of requirements laid out by a UN resolution for sanctions against Libya to be lifted. Libya said it had to accept responsibility due to Megrahi's status as

1612-543: The attack. 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. Jalil claimed to possess "documents that prove [his allegations] and [that he is] ready to hand them over to the international criminal court." In December 2013, the original prime suspects in

1674-439: The attack. The Iranian foreign ministry swiftly denied any involvement. 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. The wreckage of the crash was scattered over 2,000 square kilometres (770 sq mi), and AAIB investigators were confronted by a massive jigsaw puzzle in trying to piece

1736-735: The bomb was planted at Heathrow Airport , and not sent via feeder flights from Malta, as per the US and UK governments. A sleeper cell belonging to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command had been operating in West Germany in the months before the Pan Am bombing. In 2020, US authorities indicted the Tunisia resident and Libyan national Abu Agila Masud , who

1798-580: 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 . A flood of warnings immediately preceding the disaster had included one that read: 'team of Palestinians not associated with PLO intends to attack US targets in Europe. Time frame is present. Targets specified are Pan Am Airlines and US military bases.' Five weeks before this warning, Jibril's right-hand man, Haffez Dalkamoni, had been arrested in Frankfurt with

1860-414: The bombing, the flight number was changed, in accordance with standard practice among airlines after disasters. The Frankfurt–London–New York–Detroit route was being served by Pan Am Flight 3 upon the company's demise in 1991. 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

1922-608: The bonds forged then continue to this day. Two alerts were released shortly before the bombing. On 5 December 1988 (16 days prior to the attack), the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a security bulletin saying that, on that day, a man with an Arabic accent had telephoned the US Embassy in Helsinki , Finland, and told them that a Pan Am flight from Frankfurt to the United States would be blown up within

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1984-586: 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. We anticipate that, as often happens, many groups will seek to claim credit." 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

2046-480: The crater confirmed the initial impression that the complete wing box structure had been present at the main impact." The British Geological Survey 23 kilometres (14 mi) 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. According to the report, the rest of the wreckage composed of "the complete fuselage forward of approximately station 480 to station 380 and incorporating

2108-463: The defense during the original trial, stated that on 19 April 1999, four days before identifying al-Megrahi for the first time, Gauci had seen a picture of al-Megrahi in a magazine that connected him to the bombing, a fact that could have distorted his judgement. Gauci was shown the same magazine during his testimony at al-Megrahi's trial and asked if he had identified the photograph in April 1999 as being

2170-531: The disaster (though repeated, with reference, below ), the flight, which had a scheduled gate departure time of 18:00, left Heathrow airport on time. At 18:58, the aircraft established two-way radio contact with Shanwick Oceanic Area Control in Prestwick on 123.95 MHz. Clipper Maid of the Seas approached the corner of the Solway Firth at 19:01, and crossed the coast at 19:02 UTC. On scope,

2232-401: The exact handling characteristics of the aircraft were generally unknown. The maiden flight of a new type is almost invariably flown by a highly experienced test pilot . Maiden flights are usually accompanied by a chase plane , to verify items like altitude , airspeed , and general airworthiness . A maiden flight is only one stage in the development of an aircraft type. Unless the type is

2294-520: The explosion destroyed the aircraft's communications center. The explosion in the aircraft hold was magnified by the uncontrolled decompression of the fuselage – a large difference in pressure between the aircraft's interior and exterior. The aircraft's elevator- and rudder-control cables had been disrupted and the fuselage pitched downwards and to the left. Investigators from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch of

2356-566: The explosion in their house at 16 Sherwood Crescent. Their son witnessed a fireball engulfing his home from a neighbor's garage, where he had been repairing his sister's bicycle. 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. Patrick Keegans, Lockerbie's Catholic priest, was preparing to visit friends around 7:00 that evening with his mother, having recently been appointed

2418-442: The extreme flutter, the vertical stabilizer disintegrated, which in turn produced large yawing movements. As the forward fuselage continued to disintegrate, the flying debris tore off both of the horizontal stabilizers, while the rear fuselage, the remaining three engines, and the fin torque box separated. The rear fuselage, parts of the baggage hold, and three landing gear units landed at Rosebank Crescent. The fuselage consisting of

2480-529: The feeder flight) were transferred directly to Clipper Maid of the Seas , a Boeing 747-100 with the registration N739PA whose previous flight had originated from Los Angeles and arrived via San Francisco as flight PA 124, landing at 12 noon and parking at Gate K-14. 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 . Contrary to many popular accounts of

2542-452: The flight deck and nose landing gear was found as one piece in a field approximately 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) east of Lockerbie." This field, located opposite Tundergarth Church , is where the wreckage most easily identified with images of the accident in the media fell, having fallen "almost flat on its left side, but with a slight nose-down attitude." All 243 passengers and 16 crew members were killed, as were 11 residents of Lockerbie on

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2604-462: The ground. Of the 270 total fatalities, 190 were American citizens and 43 were British citizens. Nineteen other nationalities were represented, with four or fewer passengers per country. 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. He previously served three years in

2666-418: The main wing box structure landed in Sherwood Crescent, destroying three homes and creating a large impact crater. The 200,000 lb (91,000 kg) of jet fuel ignited by the impact started fires, which destroyed several additional houses. Investigators determined that both wings had landed in the Sherwood Crescent crater, saying, "the total absence of debris from the wing primary structure found remote from

2728-561: The next two weeks by someone associated with the Abu Nidal Organization ; he said a Finnish woman would carry the bomb on board as an unwitting courier. The anonymous warning was taken seriously by the US government and the State Department cabled the bulletin to dozens of embassies. The FAA sent it to all US carriers, including Pan Am, which had charged each of the passengers a $ 5 security surcharge, promising

2790-710: The passenger victims was the 50-year-old UN Commissioner for Namibia (then South West Africa ), Bernt Carlsson , who would have attended the signing ceremony of the New York Accords at the UN headquarters the following day. James Fuller , CEO of Volkswagen of America, was returning home together with marketing director Lou Marengo from a meeting with Volkswagen executives in Germany. Also aboard were Irish Olympic sailor Peter Dix , rock musician Paul Jeffreys and his wife, Rachel Jeffreys (née Jones) Dr. Irving Sigal,

2852-651: The passengers were students from Syracuse University , who participated in the university's Division of International Programs Abroad (abbreviated as "DIPA Program" and renamed to "Syracuse University Abroad" in 2006, while also known as "Syracuse Abroad" and "Study Abroad Program") and were returning home for Christmas following a semester in Syracuse's London and European campuses. Ten of these students were from other universities and colleges (including but not limited to Colgate University and University of Colorado ) having collaborative relationships with Syracuse. Several of

2914-454: The person who purchased the clothing; he was then asked if that person was in the court. Gauci then identified al-Megrahi for the court, stating, "He is the man on this side. He resembles him a lot". A circuit board fragment, allegedly found embedded in a piece of charred material, was identified as part of an electronic timer similar to one found on a Libyan intelligence agent who had been arrested 10 months previously for carrying materials for

2976-411: The plane back together. In total, 4 million pieces of wreckage were collected and registered on computer files. More than 10,000 pieces of debris were retrieved, tagged, and entered into a computer tracking system. 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. The fuselage of the aircraft

3038-447: The same suitcase. 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. Gauci was interviewed 23 times, giving contradictory evidence about who had bought the clothes, that person's age and appearance, and the date of purchase, but later identified Abdelbaset al-Megrahi . As Megrahi had only been in Malta on 7 December, that date

3100-480: The sample he was asked to identify at the trial was a green 9-ply circuit board that Mebo had indeed supplied to Libya. Bollier wanted to pursue this discrepancy, but was told by trial judge Lord Sutherland that he could not do so. Bollier claimed that in 1991 he had declined an offer of $ 4 million from the FBI (equivalent to $ 8 million in 2023 dollars) in exchange for his support of the main line of inquiry. Known as

3162-516: The students were due to connect to Pan Am Express Flight 4919 to Syracuse Hancock International Airport at JFK Airport later that evening. Many of their bodies were found at Rosebank Crescent, 1 ⁄ 2  mi (0.8 km) from Sherwood Crescent. 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. The bodies of two of these students were never recovered. Prominent among

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3224-638: The then-ongoing dialogue between the United States and the PLO. On the day of the bombing, the French Directorate-General for External Security was informed by their British counterpart MI6 that the UK suspected the Libyans to be behind the bombing. 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

3286-454: The town washed, dried, and ironed every piece of clothing that was found once the police had determined they were of no forensic value, so that as many items as possible could be returned to the relatives. The BBC 's Scotland correspondent, Andrew Cassell, reported on the 10th anniversary of the bombing that the townspeople had "opened their homes and hearts" to the relatives, bearing their own losses "stoically and with enormous dignity", and that

3348-520: The two men for trial at Camp Zeist, the Netherlands . 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. In August 2009, he was released by the Scottish government on compassionate grounds after being diagnosed with prostate cancer . He died in May 2012 as the only person to be convicted for

3410-518: Was 37 years old at the time of the incident, for participating in the bombing. He was taken into custody in December 2022, pleading not guilty in February 2023. A federal trial was set for May 2025. The aircraft operating Pan Am Flight 103 was a Boeing 747-121 , MSN 19646, registered as N739PA and named Clipper Maid of the Seas. Before 1979, it had been named Clipper Morning Light . It

3472-451: Was assumed to be the purchase date. This date is in doubt, as Gauci had testified that Malta's Christmas lights had not been on when the clothes had been purchased; the lights were later found to have been switched on on 6 December. Scottish police had also failed to inform the defense that another witness had testified seeing Libyan men making a similar purchase on a different day. An official report, providing information not made available to

3534-686: Was during her ABC interview 11 months after the bombing. On 13 December, the warning was posted on bulletin boards in the US Embassy in Moscow and eventually distributed to the entire American community there, including journalists and businessmen. Just days before the bombing, security forces in European countries, including the UK, were put on alert after a warning from the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) that extremists might launch terrorist attacks to undermine

3596-411: Was innocent of the charges against him. He was released from prison on compassionate grounds on 20 August 2009. Maiden flight The maiden flight , also known as first flight , of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets . In the early days of aviation it could be dangerous, because

3658-433: Was located in the business class (branded as "Clipper Class") cabin. A group of US intelligence specialists was on board the flight. Their presence gave rise to speculations and conspiracy theories that one or more of them had been targeted. Eleven Lockerbie residents on Sherwood Crescent were killed when the wing section hit the house at 13 Sherwood Crescent at more than 800 km/h (500 mph) and exploded, creating

3720-453: Was reconstructed by air accident investigators, revealing a 20-inch (510 mm) hole consistent with an explosion in the forward cargo hold. Examination of the baggage containers revealed that the container nearest the hole had blackening, pitting, and severe damage, indicating a "high-energy event" had taken place inside it. A series of test explosions was carried out to confirm the precise location and quantity of explosive used. Fragments of

3782-568: Was the 15th 747 built and had first flown on 25 January 1970. It was delivered to Pan Am on 15 February, one month after the first 747 entered service with Pan Am . In 1978, as Clipper Morning Light , it had appeared in "Conquering the Atlantic", the fourth episode of the BBC Television documentary series Diamonds in the Sky , presented by Julian Pettifer . Pan Am 103 originated as

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3844-447: Was uninjured". Keegans' mother was also unharmed, having been shielded from debris by a refrigerator-freezer. Many of the passengers' relatives, most of them from the US, arrived there within days to identify the dead. Volunteers from Lockerbie set up and staffed canteens which stayed open 24 hours a day and offered relatives, soldiers, police officers, and social workers free sandwiches, hot meals, beverages, and counseling. The people of

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