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.
Investigations revealed that an explosion occurred about 31,000 feet above the ground. Investigators had to piece together all pieces in order to establish the truth. The American aviation industry had never experienced a disaster of this magnitude. The media focused a lot on the details of the entire process.
The conclusion that Libya was involved resulted from evidence gathered from all areas. The blame was laid of two Libyans, Khalifa Al-Amin and Abdel Baset. After prosecution and the defense had presented their case, Khalifa was acquainted while Baset got a life sentence for the terrorist act. Authorities in Libya were compelled to pay damages totaling 2.7 billion dollars.
The UK Air Accident Investigation Branch spearheaded the investigations because the accident happened within their air space. The debris that was gathered in this disaster area totaled around 4 million pieces. The area covered by investigations stretched to 2000 square kilometers. Documentation and simulation had to be done using computers in order to piece the debris together.
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.
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 cost of inquiry totaled more than 60 million dollars. 230 witnesses were called to testify over a trial that lasted a total of 89 days. Transcripts for the trail went beyond 10,000 pages. Authorities in Libya claimed that they were not involved in the said attack but were only used as excuses for political reasons. This brought to fore the theory that Palestine was involved instead.
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.
Investigations revealed that an explosion occurred about 31,000 feet above the ground. Investigators had to piece together all pieces in order to establish the truth. The American aviation industry had never experienced a disaster of this magnitude. The media focused a lot on the details of the entire process.
The conclusion that Libya was involved resulted from evidence gathered from all areas. The blame was laid of two Libyans, Khalifa Al-Amin and Abdel Baset. After prosecution and the defense had presented their case, Khalifa was acquainted while Baset got a life sentence for the terrorist act. Authorities in Libya were compelled to pay damages totaling 2.7 billion dollars.
The UK Air Accident Investigation Branch spearheaded the investigations because the accident happened within their air space. The debris that was gathered in this disaster area totaled around 4 million pieces. The area covered by investigations stretched to 2000 square kilometers. Documentation and simulation had to be done using computers in order to piece the debris together.
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.
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 cost of inquiry totaled more than 60 million dollars. 230 witnesses were called to testify over a trial that lasted a total of 89 days. Transcripts for the trail went beyond 10,000 pages. Authorities in Libya claimed that they were not involved in the said attack but were only used as excuses for political reasons. This brought to fore the theory that Palestine was involved instead.
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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