Pan Am Flight 103 Air Crash Investigation Report
The Pan Am flight 103 came down at Lockerbie in Scotland on it way from Frankfurt to Detroit via London. Investigations into the disaster took detectives and aviation experts across twenty countries. The death toll according to Pan Am Flight 103 air crash investigation report totaled 270. Of this number, 259 were on-board while 11 died on the ground. Preliminary findings and eventual conclusion pointed at a bomb attack.
Experts concluded that at the time of the explosion, the plane must have been traveling at a height of 31,000 feet. Libya took the blame for the act which was termed at terrorism. The debris was reassembled in a warehouse to establish the cause of this disaster. It is considered the worst attack in the history of American aviation. A lot of media attention was focused on every small detail of these investigations.
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 »”>billion dollar compensation bill for aiding the terrorists.
Investigations were led by UK Air Accident Investigation Branch. This is the body responsible for accidents within the UK air space. Over 4 million pieces of debris were gathered in the course of investigations. The debris was scattered over 2000 square kilometers. Computers were used in simulation and labeling of parts collected as evidence.
The crash took a criminal turn when it emerged that terrorism was the cause. Investigators found PETN and RDX chemical compounds at the scene. This was blamed for the Semtex explosion that caused the crush. A combined team of FBI, Scotland Yard and local police carried out the investigations. The bomb is suspected to have been boarded at Frankfurt.
American took keen interest in this inquiry because of fatalities suffered in the disaster. A total of 189 Americans died on board. This was said to be the worst disaster in American history involving the aviation industry. The next disasters to claim such a number of people was the 9/11 attack on Twin Towers. Testimonies were collected from 15,000 people with over 3,500 photos being presented as evidence. The exhibits totaled 180,000. The expenses for this inquiry surpassed any in history.
The total expenditure during investigations totaled over 60 million dollars. The trial was another record with more than 230 witnesses being summoned to testify in proceedings that lasted 89 days. The transcripts for this trial went up to 10,000 pages and more. Libya denied the accusation that it sanctioned, planned and financed the attack. They claimed that political convenience had led authorities to lay the blame on them. This allowed the theory that Palestinians were responsible instead under the direction of Iran.
The possibility that Iran was responsible was heightened by the fact that they had a long standing conflict with American. American had grounded an Iranian plane which killed to 290 Iranians on board in the Persian Gulf. It took international sanctions to compel Libya into accepting responsibility. The politics surrounding the disaster makes it difficult to know the truth.
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