Here are the facts about the Pan Am Flight 103 that blew up over Lockerbie, Scotland. The tragedy took the lives of many people after the takeoff from London on December 21, 1988.
The Pan Am Flight 103 at Lockerbie, Scotland blew up at 31,000 feet after it left London. At approximately 38 minutes while in the air, it exploded.
Onboard were 259 people riding the Boeing 747 that would never reach its destination. All with the passengers who died, eleven people killed by accident on the ground, reported CNN.
American and British investigators investigated why the plane was destroyed, gathered the debris, and found parts of the circuit board and timer suspected to be a bomb, instead of any mechanical malfunction that caused the explosion.
Two Libyan nationals were tried as suspected terrorists who caused the deaths on Flight 103. They are identified as Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi and Al Amin Khalifah Fhimah, who were on trial for the bombing. Al Megrahi was charged guilty, but Fhimah was not.
Both suspects saw their trail in Scottish court at Camp Zeist, which belonged to the US about 20 kilometers from Amsterdam. Dutch officials had 30 acres of the 100-acre base of Scottish territory to have an area in a neutral country to try al Megrahi, Fhimah, and Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi had wanted. No jury was in the trial as three Scottish judges sat, with an extra judge.
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According to the authorities, they said the pair used Semtex to arm the bomb. It was hiding a Toshiba recorder. The makeshift explosive device was placed in a Samsonite suitcase and sent on an Air Malta flight headed from Malta to Frankfurt, Germany. It found its way to a Pan Am flight to London and then to Flight 103. Next, the explosive device exploded, destroying the plane.
According to the CIA and FBI, the suspects were employees of Libyan Arab Airlines in Malta and intelligence agents. During the trials, lessened charges to commit murder and violation of Britain's Aviation Security Act were not included.
For three years, investigators from the US, UK, Germany, and other countries were engaged in an international investigation of Pan Am Flight 103 in 30 nations with lots of evidence. Scottish law does not endorse the death sentence. Though there is no specific punishment for getting convicted for conspiracy to commit murder, courts will decide the suitable punishment. A life term in prison for the murder or contravention of the Aviation Security Act 1982, to be served in Scotland.
Some events:
December 21, 1988
Pan Am Flight 103 exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, and killed 747, along with 11 casualties.
July 1990
British Civil Aviation Authority's Air Investigation says that the terrorists used an explosive ordnance device.
November 13, 1991
Investigators from the US and Britain charged two Libyans, Megrahi, and Fhimah based on broken laws. They suspected it to be from Libyan Intel.
April 15, 1992
The United Nations Security Council moved to penalize Libya for refusing to give the suspects for trial.
The destruction of Pan Am Flight 103 was unfortunate for the loss of lives, and Libya was affected by this choice later.
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