Pan Am Flight 103 Air Crash Investigation Report
The small town of Lockerbie in Scotland witnessed the Pan Am flight 103 disaster which claimed the lives of 270 people. Inquiry into this disaster stretched to cover 20 countries. The final Pan Am flight 103 air crash investigation findings indicated that a bomb was responsible for the death of 259 on board and the 11 who perished on the ground. Findings that a bomb was involved escalated the investigations to term it as a terrorist act.
The analysis revealed that the plan was traveling at 31,000 feet in the sky when it exploded. It was termed as a terrorist attack and the blame was laid on Libya. Investigations involved piecing together the debris in a warehouse in order to establish the cause and circumstances surrounding the crash. This became the worst plane disaster that involved terrorism and attracted world media to the small town.
Evidence presented by prosecutors implicated Libyans in the terror attack. Two of her citizens went on trial for acts of terrorism. They were Abdel Baset and Khalifa Al-Amin. The evidence presented was used to set Khalifa free but Abdel was sentenced to life in prison. It was claimed that the plane was brought down under instructions from the Libyan authorities. Libya was slapped with a 2.7 billion dollar compensation bill for aiding the terrorists.
Investigations were led by the UK Air Accident Investigation branch. They took over the responsibility because the accident occurred in within their airspace. A whopping 4 million pieces of debris and evidence were collected with the entire accident area covering over 2000 square kilometers. Computer simulations were necessary in documenting and ordering the pieces.
Claims that terrorists were involved shifted the focus of investigating teams. The chemical compounds that were found on site included RDX and PETN. The type of explosion witnessed was said to be Semtex. The teams involved in these investigations included FBI, local police and Scotland Yard. Frankfurt was suspected to be the loading port for the bomb.
Americans were interested in these investigations because of the fatalities they suffered. Of the 270 who died, 189 were American citizen. This was a big blow and a record in the aviation history. The number of casualties was only surpassed by the deaths during the 9/11 attack on Twin Towers. Investigations and prosecution process witnessed the presentation of 180,000 pieces of evidence. Testimonies of 15,000 people were collected to aid in the investigations. 3,500 photos were taken and presented during inquiry. A new record was set in terms of expenditure during an investigation.
The total expenditure for the process crocked 60 million dollars. Those invited to testify were 230 with the court transcripts adding up to 10,000 pages. The trail period lasted 89 days, a new record in the industry. Libyan authorities claimed that though they agreed to pay the cost of damage, they had been used as scapegoats and were not the culprits. The other theory implicated Palestinians with Libya reading political malice in the conclusion.
Iran was said to harbor a grudge against America for killing 290 of her citizens in the Persian Gulf sometime back. This was a reason enough to cause them to bring down the plane. Libya conceded to the blame and paid compensation after suctions were imposed. Such turn of events and variety of theories make it difficult to find the truth about this disaster.
The analysis revealed that the plan was traveling at 31,000 feet in the sky when it exploded. It was termed as a terrorist attack and the blame was laid on Libya. Investigations involved piecing together the debris in a warehouse in order to establish the cause and circumstances surrounding the crash. This became the worst plane disaster that involved terrorism and attracted world media to the small town.
Evidence presented by prosecutors implicated Libyans in the terror attack. Two of her citizens went on trial for acts of terrorism. They were Abdel Baset and Khalifa Al-Amin. The evidence presented was used to set Khalifa free but Abdel was sentenced to life in prison. It was claimed that the plane was brought down under instructions from the Libyan authorities. Libya was slapped with a 2.7 billion dollar compensation bill for aiding the terrorists.
Investigations were led by the UK Air Accident Investigation branch. They took over the responsibility because the accident occurred in within their airspace. A whopping 4 million pieces of debris and evidence were collected with the entire accident area covering over 2000 square kilometers. Computer simulations were necessary in documenting and ordering the pieces.
Claims that terrorists were involved shifted the focus of investigating teams. The chemical compounds that were found on site included RDX and PETN. The type of explosion witnessed was said to be Semtex. The teams involved in these investigations included FBI, local police and Scotland Yard. Frankfurt was suspected to be the loading port for the bomb.
Americans were interested in these investigations because of the fatalities they suffered. Of the 270 who died, 189 were American citizen. This was a big blow and a record in the aviation history. The number of casualties was only surpassed by the deaths during the 9/11 attack on Twin Towers. Investigations and prosecution process witnessed the presentation of 180,000 pieces of evidence. Testimonies of 15,000 people were collected to aid in the investigations. 3,500 photos were taken and presented during inquiry. A new record was set in terms of expenditure during an investigation.
The total expenditure for the process crocked 60 million dollars. Those invited to testify were 230 with the court transcripts adding up to 10,000 pages. The trail period lasted 89 days, a new record in the industry. Libyan authorities claimed that though they agreed to pay the cost of damage, they had been used as scapegoats and were not the culprits. The other theory implicated Palestinians with Libya reading political malice in the conclusion.
Iran was said to harbor a grudge against America for killing 290 of her citizens in the Persian Gulf sometime back. This was a reason enough to cause them to bring down the plane. Libya conceded to the blame and paid compensation after suctions were imposed. Such turn of events and variety of theories make it difficult to find the truth about this disaster.
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