The Pan Am Flight 103 crashed on its way to Detroit from Frankfurt via London and became a center for investigations for years that followed. The Pan Am flight 103 air crash investigation covered 20 countries and sort to establish what occurred over the small town of Lockerbie in Scotland that brought down the plane. By the time it was coming down, it had 259 people on board. The number of deaths hit 270 because 11 people died on the ground. Initial findings indicated that a bomb had been planted in the luggage section, most probably 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.
It took three years for prosecutors to piece together the evidence presented before concluding that Libyans were involved. The two persons implicated with planning were Abdel Baset and Khalifa Al-Amin. After the cases were presented before the judges, the verdict exonerated Khalifa while Baset was found guilty and sentenced to serve life in prison. The judges also ruled that Libya should take responsibility for the act and pay 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 investigations and trial broke the record for the most expensive exercise. A total of 60 million dollars was spent with 230 people presenting their evidence in person. Court transcripts topped 10,000 pages with the entire trial taking a record 89 days. There was a claim that the trials took a political angle which dimmed any hopes of finding the truth. Libya was claimed to be a scapegoat while the real perpetrators were Iranians with the aid of Palestinians.
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.
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.
It took three years for prosecutors to piece together the evidence presented before concluding that Libyans were involved. The two persons implicated with planning were Abdel Baset and Khalifa Al-Amin. After the cases were presented before the judges, the verdict exonerated Khalifa while Baset was found guilty and sentenced to serve life in prison. The judges also ruled that Libya should take responsibility for the act and pay 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 investigations and trial broke the record for the most expensive exercise. A total of 60 million dollars was spent with 230 people presenting their evidence in person. Court transcripts topped 10,000 pages with the entire trial taking a record 89 days. There was a claim that the trials took a political angle which dimmed any hopes of finding the truth. Libya was claimed to be a scapegoat while the real perpetrators were Iranians with the aid of Palestinians.
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.
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