Investigators sort to establish what happened 38 minutes after takeoff that lead to the death of 270 people on board the Pan Am flight 103. This mystery guided the Pan Am flight 103 air crash investigation with the center of focus being Lockerbie in Scotland. Preliminary findings indicated that a bomb had been hidden at the cargo section in a way that was concealed from the crew in charge. Of the 270 who died, 259 were crew and passengers traveling to New York while 11 died at the site of the crash.
At the time the bomb went off, the plane is said to have been cruising 31,000 feet in the sky. The report implicated Libyan terrorists. The conclusion was as a result of thousands of pieces of debris collected from the site and information from other sources. Investigators assembled the plane in a warehouse to aid in identifying the location of the bomb. The crash attracted the attention of world media because of the nature of attack and magnitude of loss.
Investigators sifted through evidence and presentations for three years before implicating two Libyans. They were Al Amin Khalifa and Abdel Baset. The evidence presented during the trial of these two individuals did not implicated Khalifa. This led to his release while Al-Amin was sent to prison for life. Libya took responsibility and paid a total of 2.7 billion dollars in fines.
Investigations involving accidents in UK are handled by Air Accident Investigation Branch. They took responsibility of this one too. The area covered by the debris extended around 2000 square kilometers where about 4million pieces were collected. They were recorded in computers for easy identification.
Investigations took a criminal angle when the bomb theory care to fore. There were traces of PETN and RDX, chemicals that cause Semtex explosions. The bomb was said to have been entered in Frankfurt. Investigators were drawn from the FBI, Scotland Yard and local police.
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 expenditure for the trial was a record breaking 60 million dollars. No other trial in history has cost that much. 230 witnesses stood before the judges to give their testimonies. Transcriptions for the entire trial totaled over 10,000 pages which were written over the 89 days that testimonies were given. There is a theory that the real perpetrators of the crime were never caught. The politics of Iran, Palestine and America complicated the process of revealing the truth. The theory states that Iran paid some Palestinian individuals to bring down the plane.
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.
At the time the bomb went off, the plane is said to have been cruising 31,000 feet in the sky. The report implicated Libyan terrorists. The conclusion was as a result of thousands of pieces of debris collected from the site and information from other sources. Investigators assembled the plane in a warehouse to aid in identifying the location of the bomb. The crash attracted the attention of world media because of the nature of attack and magnitude of loss.
Investigators sifted through evidence and presentations for three years before implicating two Libyans. They were Al Amin Khalifa and Abdel Baset. The evidence presented during the trial of these two individuals did not implicated Khalifa. This led to his release while Al-Amin was sent to prison for life. Libya took responsibility and paid a total of 2.7 billion dollars in fines.
Investigations involving accidents in UK are handled by Air Accident Investigation Branch. They took responsibility of this one too. The area covered by the debris extended around 2000 square kilometers where about 4million pieces were collected. They were recorded in computers for easy identification.
Investigations took a criminal angle when the bomb theory care to fore. There were traces of PETN and RDX, chemicals that cause Semtex explosions. The bomb was said to have been entered in Frankfurt. Investigators were drawn from the FBI, Scotland Yard and local police.
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 expenditure for the trial was a record breaking 60 million dollars. No other trial in history has cost that much. 230 witnesses stood before the judges to give their testimonies. Transcriptions for the entire trial totaled over 10,000 pages which were written over the 89 days that testimonies were given. There is a theory that the real perpetrators of the crime were never caught. The politics of Iran, Palestine and America complicated the process of revealing the truth. The theory states that Iran paid some Palestinian individuals to bring down the plane.
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment