Channel FIVE5: Pan Am Flight 103 Air Crash Investigation Conclusions

Pan Am Flight 103 Air Crash Investigation Conclusions

By Anita Ortega

Investigators worked for years to solve the mystery of the Pan Am Fight 103 that came down 38 minutes after takeoff on its way to Detroit through London from Frankfurt. Pan Am Flight 103 air crash investigation team camped at Lockerbie in Scotland to unravel the mystery surrounding the death of 259 people on board and 11 on the ground. Preliminary investigations pointed at a bomb that was planted in the luggage section. The luggage could have found its way into the plane in Frankfurt.

The bomb could have exploded 31,000 feet in the sky while the plane was cruising. Libyans were implicated in what was described as a terrorist attack. Investigators pieced together the debris in a warehouse to help with investigations. This was the largest plane attack in history and explains why there was a lot of media attention. It led to an unprecedented loss of life.

The conclusion that Libyans were involved resulted from years of evidence collection. After three years, two Libyans, Khalifa Al-Amin and Baset Abdel were implicated with the terrorist act. The judges ruled that Khalifa did not commit the crime and was therefore set free. Abdel was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. The government was to take responsibility by paying 2.7 billion dollars.

UK Air Accident Investigation Branch took over investigations as it was its responsibility and mandate considering that the crash happened in UK air space. 4 million pieces of debris were collected from an area covering 2000 square kilometers. The team had to use computer documentation to piece together the debris.

The idea of a bomb led investigators to term the crush as a criminal act. This is where they were led to believe that luggage was used to plant it at the cargo section. It was suspected that the luggage was boarded in Frankfurt. The remains had traces of RDX and PETN chemicals which cause Semtex explosion. The team of investigators included local police, Scotland Yard and FBI.

American was interested in the investigations because 189 of the 270 who died were Americans. This was the most deadly attack on her citizens and would only be overtaken by the 9/11 which took place years later. The trial saw 180,000 pieces presented as evidence which included 3,500 photos. There were testimonies of 15,000 people. The countries involved totaled 20 with a conclusion that saw sanctions on Libya to compel them to accept responsibility and pay.

The total budget for investigations and trial amounted to 60 million dollars. This was a record breaking budget with 230 people being called to testify. Transcriptions for court proceedings went up to 10,000 pages while the total time taken for testimonies was 89 days. Despite all these investigations, some quotas claimed that the crash took a global political angle. This led the perpetrators to escape as investigators chased Libya. There was a claim that Iran was responsible through the aid of Palestinians. This was to retaliate for their plane that was grounded by Americans killing 290 people in the Persian Gulf.

Iran had a reason to bring down the plane because they had a feud with America. America is said to have caused the death of 290 Iranian civilians in the Persian Gulf. Libya refused to take responsibility until it was forced through UN sanctions. There is a feeling that the truth was never revealed and thus will never be known.