The bodies of Captain MacQuarrie, his copilot and the flight engineer were found still strapped into their seats. News4's Derrick Ward reports about what that means for loved ones of some of the local victims. It offered us some comfort to know my fathers body had been looked after, to hope that he had lost consciousness and that his experience of what happened to him was minimal. Everybody wanted to do something to help.. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). On Saturday, accompanied by 70 supporters, they cycled from Lockerbie to Edinburgh Castle. Air Crash Investigationss. [citation needed] The bombing is also compared with the death of actor Brandon Lee on the track Gold off of hip-hop artist GZAs 1995 album Liquid Swords, in the lyric, "Snake got smoked on the set like Brandon Lee, blown out the frame like Pan Am Flight 103. They seemed satisfied with what I said, as if I didnt know as much as they feared., UN inspector Dr Hans Koechler, an independent observer at Abdelbaset al-Megrahis trial, said: I had similar experiences after my first report on the Lockerbie trial in 2001.. [20]:44 Due to the extreme flutter, the vertical stabilizer disintegrated, which in turn produced large yawing movements. The townspeople began baking scones and cakes to supplement other food services and to show kindness to the workers who faced such a grim task. The Guardian, 12 November 1994, page 6, "Cover-up claim as Lockerbie film screening is cancelled". And its not just for the 35 they lost. [137], A civil action against Libya continued until 18 February 2005 on behalf of Pan Am and its insurers, which went bankrupt partly as a result of the attack. On 29 May 2002, Libya offered up to US$2.7billion to settle claims by the families of the 270 killed in the Lockerbie bombing, representing US$10million per family. Six of the 13 cabin crew members became naturalized US citizens while working for Pan Am. PA103 was bookable as either a single FrankfurtNew York or a FrankfurtDetroit itinerary, though a scheduled change of aircraft took place in London's Heathrow Airport. About 7:00 pm on December 21, Pan Am flight 103, a Boeing 747 en route to New York City from London, exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland. [61], Known as the Lockerbie bombing and the Lockerbie air disaster in the UK, it was described by Scotland's Lord Advocate as the UK's largest criminal inquiry led by the smallest police force in Britain, Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary.[62]. It looked as though they were asleep, it wasn't obviously injured, and it was just a shock to realise it was a passenger from Pan Am 103. October 2015: Two more suspects linked to Libya investigated. Bryony Owen and her mum Yvonne both died in the bombing, Colin Dorrance pictured now and during his earlier days in the force. Bakhmut attacks still being repelled, says Ukraine, AOC under investigation for Met Gala dress, Mother who killed her five children euthanised, Alex Murdaugh jailed for life for double murder, Zoom boss Greg Tomb fired without cause, The children left behind in Cuba's exodus, Spencer Matthews looks for brother's body on Everest. On December 21, 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 exploded 31,000 feet over Lockerbie, Scotland, 38 minutes after takeoff from London. Following his release, Megrahi published evidence on the Internet that was gathered for the abandoned second appeal which he claimed would clear his name. We will never ever forget what they did for our father.. The bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 December 21, 1988 sent a shock wave around the world. In all, 270 souls perished. The perpetrators had apparently intended the plane to crash into the sea, destroying any traceable evidence, but its explosion over land left a trail of evidence.[56]. [136], On 24 February 2004, Libyan Prime Minister Shukri Ghanem stated in a BBC Radio 4 interview that his country had paid the compensation as the "price for peace" and to secure the lifting of sanctions. This thing happened, and its our job to share it with other people in a meaningful way, she said. Hugh said he was still strapped in his seat and had his sleeves rolled up. At the 20th anniversary service at Arlington National Cemetery to commemorate the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, former FBI Director Robert Mueller greeted Scottish and U.S. investigators who worked on the investigation. Other parts of the jetliner came to rest in and around Lockerbie. Falling wreckage destroyed 21 houses and killed an additional 11 people on the ground. Later, on 23 March 1986, a Libyan Navy patrol boat was sunk in the Gulf of Sidra,[106] followed by the sinking of another Libyan vessel on 25 March 1986. [11][13] In 1978, as Clipper Morning Light, it had appeared in "Conquering the Atlantic", the fourth episode of the BBC Television documentary series Diamonds in the Sky, presented by Julian Pettifer.[14]. the Lockerbie bombing killed . In fact, many have vowed never to forget, to make sure the lessons of Lockerbie are not lost on future generations. 2023 Getty Images. Another caller claimed the plane had been downed by Mossad, the Israeli intelligence service. Updates? [97], In 2020, US authorities indicted Libyan national, Abu Agila Mohammad Mas'ud Kheir Al-Marimi, for participating in the bombing. Some of the 196 bodies found so far did contain shrapnel, he said. [3] Acceptance of responsibility was part of a series of requirements laid out by a UN resolution for sanctions against Libya to be lifted. ASL interpretation will be available for this event. There again, I find that very encouraging 30 years hence.. That was a tall order, considering that assisting federal crime victims at all was a fairly new concept. In July 2010 an investigation spurred by U.S. senators revealed that oil company BP had lobbied for a prisoner transfer agreement between the United Kingdom and Libya. Nothing could have prepared you.. [22] The CVR, located in the tail section of the aircraft, was found in a field by police searchers within 24 hours. Karen Gass was 26 years old at the time. WICHITA, Kan. (AP) _ The pilot and at least 147 other victims of the Lockerbie disaster may have survived the bomb blast that ripped the plane apart at 31,000 feet and died when they hit the ground, a forensic pathologist said. [46], On the day of the bombing, the French Directorate-General for External Security was informed by their British counterpart that the UK suspected the Libyans to be behind the bombing.[47]. [38] The bodies of both 15 Sherwood Crescent children and both 16 Sherwood Crescent parents were never recovered. Dark Elegy is the work of sculptor Suse Lowenstein of Long Island, whose son Alexander, then 21, was a passenger on the flight. Dad was cremated so we dont have a grave or marker to visit. A deep gash in the ground next to destroyed houses caused by the crash of Pan Am Flight 103 through Lockerbie in December 1988. . The plane had reached a height of approximately 31,000 feet (9,500 metres) and was preparing for the oceanic portion of the flight when a timer-activated bomb detonated. There, on a hilltop next to a memorial cairn constructed of 270 stonesone for each of the victims and a permanent reminder of the devastation caused by terrorismthe names of the dead will be spoken. The application to the SCCRC followed the publication of two reports in February 2001 and March 2002 by Hans Kchler, who had been an international observer at Camp Zeist, appointed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations. I hope that the contents of this letter underline some of the reasons as to why I cannot possibly accept that any inquiry should be limited to Scotland, and I apologise if my previous personal letter of 24 August misled you over the main focus that the inquiry will need to address. [55], The initial investigation into the crash site by Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary involved many helicopter surveys, satellite imaging, and a search of the area by police and soldiers. The Scottish Government had already rejected an independent inquiry, saying it lacks the constitutional power to examine the international dimensions of the case.[121]. He had carried the child into the town hall. Lockerbie is changed. File photo from December 22, 1988 shows rescue personnel carrying a body . The people of Lockerbie, said Alex Smith, a retired police officer from the town, were fantastic. In the face of their own tragedy, they rallied and gave every assistance they possibly could.. My children are now laying the groundwork as to how they want to approach this with their children, said Mary Kay Stratis, whose husband died on Pan Am Flight 103. So, there is a headstone with the 11 people whose bodies were not . Both Pan Am and TWA routinely changed the type of aircraft operating different legs of a flight. At this point, the Clipper Maid of the Seas was flying at 31,000 feet (9,400m) on a heading of 316 magnetic, and at a speed of 313kn (580km/h; 360mph) calibrated airspeed. Afterward, United States and British investigators found fragments of a circuit board and a timer, and ruled that a bomb, not mechanical failure, caused the explosion. [45], Just days before the sabotage of the aircraft, security forces in European countries, including the UK, were put on alert after a warning from the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) that extremists might launch terrorist attacks to undermine the then-ongoing dialogue between the United States and the PLO. A large, private space for families next to the courtroom became known as the safe haven. It was a lounge for the families to wait in before, during, and right after the trial, Turman said. Gaddafi blamed the defeat on French and US "aggression against Libya". Like many of his colleagues, the case consumed every minute of his professional life. Eleven residents were killed instantly. Although the students remained silent during the ceremony, many cried and hugged one another as the 35 minutes concluded. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. This annual ceremony remembers the 270 people, including 35 students studying abroad through Syracuse University, who were killed in the Dec. 21, 1988, bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. [163][164] In Sherwood Crescent there is a garden of remembrance to the seven Lockerbie residents killed when the aircraft's main wreckage fell there, destroying their homes.[165]. This place is special. The 200,000lb (91,000kg) of jet fuel ignited by the impact started fires, which destroyed several additional houses. We want to make sure we dont forget them, she said, and that we live the way they livedgoing after things, not being afraidalways looking forward and making the world a better place.. A Libyan intelligence official accused of making the bomb that brought down Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988 in an international act of terrorism has been taken into U.S . On December 21, 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 exploded 31,000 feet over Lockerbie, Scotland, 38 minutes after takeoff from London. We cannot say that it is impossible that the clothing might have been taken from Malta, united somewhere with a timer from some source other than Libya and introduced into the airline baggage system at Frankfurt or Heathrow. Targets specified are Pan Am Airlines and US military bases.' Many of their bodies were found at Rosebank Crescent, .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}12mi (0.8km) from Sherwood Crescent. "Until we heard their story, I thought my dad had possibly had a fiery death, but he was relatively unmarked when he was found. A substantial quantity of such timers had been supplied to Libya. Within a week of what Scottish authorities were calling the Lockerbie air disaster, it was determined that Pan Am Flight 103 had been destroyed by a bomb. [74][75][76], On 28 June 2007, the SCCRC announced its decision to refer Megrahi's case to the High Court for a second appeal against conviction. He had worked a day shift and was at home when a newsflash on the television announced that an airplane had crashed. Across the town, across Scotland, across the world, the scale of the tragedy was becoming clear. August 2009: Cancer victim al-Megrahi freed on compassionate grounds. Some relatives of the dead, including Lockerbie campaigner Jim Swire, believe the bomb was planted at Heathrow Airport, and not sent via feeder flights from Malta, as per the US and UK governments. [37] The other Lockerbie residents who died were two widows aged 82 and 81, who also both lived in Sherwood Crescent; they were the two oldest victims of the disaster. It is, as we have said, clear that with one exception, the clothing in the primary suitcase was the clothing purchased in Mr Gauci's shop on 7 December 1988. [132], Compensation for the families of the PA103 victims was among the steps set by the UN for lifting its sanctions against Libya. * On Jan. 31, 2001, a three-judge Scottish court at a former U.S. base in the . In 2002 the suspects were handed over to the UN. The signatories considered that a UN inquiry could help remove "many of the deep misgivings which persist in lingering over this tragedy" and could also eliminate Malta from this terrorist act. A 2012 Libyan interrogation report claiming he admitted to making the Lockerbie bomb had made its way to US authorities, and in 2020, the FBI traveled to Tunisia to interview the former Libyan official who had taken Masuds statement. Items of baby clothing, which were subsequently proven to have been made in Malta, were thought to have come from the same suitcase. The United States Crime Victims Fund paid for travel for two family members per victim to attend the trial in the Netherlands for approximately a week, or to visit one of the closed-circuit sites. It really wasnt until the two Libyans were handed over for trial that the plight of the families came back up. He'd gone to the farm where the body of 21-year-old student Lynne Hartunian was found, along with many other passengers from the plane. UN sanctions against Libya and protracted negotiations with Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi secured the handover of the accused on 5 April 1999 to Scottish police at Camp Zeist, the Netherlands, which was selected as a neutral venue for their trial. But at Arlington National Cemetery this year, some of their grandchildren will be in attendance. Pan Am Flight 103 - a regularly scheduled transatlantic flight from Frankfurt, Germany to Detroit, USA - exploded from a terrorist bomb at 30,000 feet in the air. He claims he was visited by two journalists who were security agents. He would later lead a team of investigators that followed the evidence to Malta. Abdel-Jalil stepped down as minister of justice in protest over the violence against anti-government demonstrations. She didn't realize at first what was . And, most devastating of all, there were 259 bodies. Search instead in. In many ways, the reverberations are still being felt today. On December 1988, the Boeing 747 was scheduled to fly from Frankfurt, Germany, to Detroit, Michigan, via London and New York. In December 1988, Franks family were wracked by grief as it became clear he had perished along with 258 other passengers and crew in the explosion on his way home to the US for Christmas on the night of the 21st. They believed he must have died horrifically in the appalling devastation of the main fuselage crash site in Lockerbie where most of the passengers were found. The Libyan government eventually agreed to pay damages to the families of the victims of the attack. Investigations were soon launched in the United . When asked if Libya would therefore seek reimbursement of the compensation paid to the families of the victims (US$33billion in total), Saif Gaddafi replied: "I don't know". . "He said it was a child by the name of Bryony Owen who was 20 months old and it had affected his father very badly over the years. [53] In 2014, an Iranian ex-spy asserted that Iran ordered the attack. 3 Steve was one of the first . [98] In December 2022, the United States government obtained custody of 71-year-old Mas'ud. On 16 August 2003, Libya formally admitted responsibility for Pan Am Flight 103 in a letter presented to the president of the United Nations Security Council. Victims of Pan Am Flight 103, Inc. holds one of its annual meetings during Remembrance Week, and every year FBI and Scottish investigators and prosecutors brief the group on the status of the case. Instead, the judges announced on January 30 that the verdict would be read the next day at 11 a.m. Turman raced out of the courtroom. Thirty-five Syracuse students returning home from a study abroad program were killed on the flight, and the university vowed never to forget them. Volunteers like the laundry ladies were just people who wanted to do the wee bit, to put something back in, and I think we can never lose sight of that, that human kindness. 2:54 PM EST, Mon December 12, 2022. [138], In the wake of the SCCRC's June 2007 decision, there have been suggestions that, if Megrahi's second appeal had been successful and his conviction had been overturned, Libya could have sought to recover the $2.16billion compensation paid to the relatives. More than 10,000 pieces of debris were retrieved, tagged, and entered into a computer tracking system. Lockerbie bombing victims with the remaining 20% of the sum agreed in 2003; News.bbc.co.uk. Others sought the comfort of the peaceful memorials erected to honor the victims. "Later US intelligence officials confirmed that members of the group had been monitoring Pan Am's facilities at Frankfurt airport. The plane, which operated the flight's transatlantic leg, pushed back from the terminal at 18:04 and took off from runway 27R at 18:25, bound for New York JFK Airport and then Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport. "Fate just fell into place," Colin said. People who lived . We continue to do that.. Just a minute later, according to a video . His survival beyond the approximate "three-month" prognosis generated some controversy. And He Wants to Take Libya Back", "African Manipulations: Tainted Evidence of Libyan Terrorism", "Oliver "Buck" Revell speaks for International Speakers Bureau", "Libya offers $2.7billion Pan Am 103 settlement", "Security Council lifts sanctions imposed on Libya after terrorist bombings of Pan Am Flight 103 and UTA Flight 772", "Lockerbie lawyer says 200m fee is 'good value', Saif al-Gaddafi says "Libyans are innocent" of the Pan Am Flight 103 and UTA Flight 772 bombings, "Gaddafi's son attacks "greedy" Lockerbie relatives in BBC Two documentary", "Khadafy ordered Lockerbie bombing, says Libyan minister", "The Influence Game: Lobbyists who aided families of Pan Am bombing victims earn $2million fee", The night fire and victims rained on Lockerbie, "Cornell professorship funded by $3.8 million Libyan payment for student killed in Lockerbie bombing", "The Women of Lockerbie Deborah Brevoort", "Google Streetview Sherwood Crescent Memorial", "Lockerbie disaster Pan am flight 103 remains lie forgotten in a Lincolnshire scrapyard", "Authentic Pan Am 103 cockpit wreck photo", "Lockerbie wreckage parts returned to Scotland", The Scottish indictment against Megrahi and Fhimah, The U.S. indictment against Megrahi and Fhimah, "No:2/9 Boeing 747-121, N739PA, at Lockerbie, Dumfriesshire, Scotland", Graphic of how the aircraft was destroyed, United Nations Security Council Resolution 731 (1992), United Nations Security Council Resolution 748 (1992), United Nations Security Council Resolution 883 (1993), "Lessons from Lockerbie, ten years later", "Lockerbie, 10 years on: Reporter's reflections", "Libya offers $2.7billion Lockerbie settlement", "Scottish Court in the Netherlands 20002002", Pan Am 103 Lockerbie Air Disaster Archives, Aircraft Accident Report 2/1990 Report on the accident to Boeing 747-121, N739PA, at Lockerbie, Dumfriesshire, Scotland on 21 December 1988, 2/1990 Aircraft Accident Report 2/1990, Appendices AG, Defense Intelligence Agency Redacted Pan Am Report, "It Happened in Lockerbie 20 August 09 Part 1", International observer mission of the president of the International Progress Organization, Dr. Hans Koechler, at the Scottish Court in the Netherlands ("Lockerbie Court"), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pan_Am_Flight_103&oldid=1141600700, A male caller claimed that a group called the "Guardians of the Islamic Revolution" had destroyed the plane in retaliation for. November 2018: It announces there was no criminality in way investigation was handled. Shortly after 19:00 on 21 December 1988, while the aircraft was in flight over the Scottish town of Lockerbie, it was destroyed by a bomb that had been planted on board, killing all 243 passengers and 16 crew in what became known as the Lockerbie bombing. For the FBI, Pan Am Flight 103 was a watershed event. The five judges rejected the appeal, ruling unanimously that "none of the grounds of appeal was well-founded", adding "this brings proceedings to an end". Bryony was travelling to the United States with her mother Yvonne Owen from Wales, to spend Christmas in Boston. August 2003: UN sanctions lifted against Libya after Tripoli accepts blame and compensates families. Both of the accused chose not to give evidence in court. First, there was the Gulf of Sidra incident (1981) when two Libyan fighter aircraft were shot down by two US Navy F-14 Tomcat fighters. My task was to figure out how to support 270 families through a trial in another country, she said. [citation needed], Prominent among the passenger victims was the 50-year-old UN Commissioner for Namibia (then South West Africa), Bernt Carlsson, who would have attended the signing ceremony of the New York Accords at the UN headquarters the following day. Hugh mentioned Dads dark hair and asked whether his children had it too. [111] To avenge his daughter's supposed death (Hana or Hanna's actual fate remains disputed), Gaddafi is said to have sponsored the September 1986 hijacking of Pan Am Flight 73 in Karachi, Pakistan. 53:52. The approach was to make sure that families have information, make sure they have support, make sure we take their needs seriously and help them get through one of the most horrible things that can happen to somebody., Today, it is standard procedure for what is now the FBIs Victim Services Division to clean and return personal effects to victims of crimes. The bomb that brought down Pan Am Flight 103 was concealed in a cassette recorder and packed inside a suitcase that was loaded onto a flight from Malta to Frankfurt, Germany, with no accompanying passenger. The cabin crew was based at Heathrow and lived in the London area or commuted from around Europe. On 2 September 2009, former MEP Michael McGowan demanded that the UK government call for an urgent, independent inquiry led by the UN to find out the truth about Pan Am flight 103. As time passed, many came to say thank you. Although both BP and the U.K. government denied that Megrahi was discussed specifically, in 2009 British justice minister Jack Straw had stated that BPs business dealings with the Libyan government were a factor in considering his case. Thursday 22 December 1988 was the first day of a changed Lockerbie. Scottish police officers and Lockerbie residents regularly volunteered to be guides and companions to these special visitors, and because of the grace and compassion shown to grieving strangers a long way from home, lasting bonds were formed. "[149], In March 2009, it was announced that US lobbying firm, Quinn Gillespie & Associates, received fees of $2million for the work it did from 2006 through 2008 helping the PA103 relatives obtain payment by Libya of the final $2million compensation (out of a total of $10million) that was due to each family. [151], There are several private and public memorials to the PA103 victims. Authorities accused Libyan nationals Abdelbeset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi and Al Amin Khalifah Fhimah of manufacturing the bomb, which they said was made out of Semtex plastic explosives, concealed in a Toshiba cassette recorder, hidden in a Samsonite suitcase and slipped into an Air Malta flight headed from Malta to Frankfurt, Germany. Some wanted to know exactly where their loved ones body had been recovered. [73] Kchler also issued a series of statements in 2003, 2005, and 2007 calling for an independent international inquiry into the case and accusing the West of "double standards in criminal justice" in relation to the Lockerbie trial on the one hand and the HIV trial in Libya on the other. Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much On Sunday, the US Justice Department said that Masud was in US custody. A last treasured picture of Laurie Ciulla and her father Frank, who died in the Lockerbie disaster, Five of Frank's grandchildren at the fields where he was found, The grandchildren say they feel connected to Frank when they visit the place he was found, Farmer Hugh Connell discovered Frank six miles from Lockerbie still strapped to his seat, Police guard the wreckage of the Lockerbie Bombing in 1988, Jim Swire and John Mosey say they will fight for justice. "I now know the person I need to remember. A lot of the people that we believe were involved in this are deceased, but there are others we know are alive. Still, he added, the FBI has a very long memory.. Current-day Lockerbie seems the quiet and friendly town it has always been. U.S. authorities have taken into custody a Libyan man accused of being involved with making the bomb that destroyed Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, killing 270 people . 1 The disputed territory of Western Sahara is mostly occupied and administered by Morocco; the Polisario Front claims the territory in militating for the establishment an independ The rear fuselage of the plane, where many of them sat, destroyed one of the houses of Rosebank Crescent, 71 Park Place, the home of Lockerbie resident Ella Ramsden, who survived. Aviation security as we know it today did not exist in 1988. Looking back and acting forward, thats our motto, said Katie Berrell, a Remembrance Scholar who represents her uncle. -- Here's a list of the 270 people killed 25 years ago today in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, on Dec. 21, 1988. All 259 people on board were killed, as well as 11 people in the town of . SUNY Oswego also gives out scholarships in memorial of Colleen Brunner to a student who is studying abroad. A Warner Bros. Back then, these wreckage-littered fields six miles outside the Scottish town bore witness to the horrifying bombing of Pan-Am flight 103 in the skies above. During the First Libyan Civil War in 2011, former Minister of Justice Mustafa Abdul Jalil claimed that the Libyan leader had personally ordered the bombing,[3] while investigators have long believed that Megrahi did not act alone, and have been reported as questioning retired Stasi agents about a possible role in the attack. [168], The bombing of Flight 103 has been depicted in many documentaries, such as Air Crash Investigation and the BBC. [128][129], On 29 September 1989, President Bush appointed Ann McLaughlin Korologos, former Secretary of Labor, to chair the President's Commission on Aviation Security and Terrorism (PCAST) to review and report on aviation security policy in the light of the sabotage of flight PA103. It was one of the most satisfying experiences of my career, Turman said. Theres a saying that the dead are still with us as long as someone speaks their name, Turman said. Thirty years ago, the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 sent a shock wave around the world. 2 commission seat . There was not an emergency plan as such at the time, said Stuart Cossar, a Police Scotland detective inspector who until his recent retirement was the deputy senior investigating officer for the ongoing investigation. [161] This play has received the Silver Medal from the Onassis International Playwriting Competition and the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays award. This was just a catastrophe. On December 21, Pan Am 103 was beginning the second leg of its Frankfurt-London-New York-Detroit route. He resembles him a lot". This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. [Oliver_ FBI's Oliver "Buck" Revell served as Advisor to PCAST]. BBC interview of Dr. Hans Kchler, "Judgement on the scope of Megrahi's second appeal", "Secret talks on deal to return Megrahi to Libya", "Lockerbie: Megrahi appeal will not be heard until next year", "Timeline: Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi and the Lockerbie bombing", Summary of the opinion of the court in appeal by Abdelbaset al-Megrahi against Her Majesty's Advocate. The FBI has been a constant presence, said Mary Kay Stratis, a New Jersey resident who lost her husband, Elia, on Pan Am Flight 103 and who is board chair of the victims group. Other theories implicate Libya and Abu Nidal, and apartheid South Africa. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Gaddafi later retracted Ghanem's comments, under pressure from Washington and London. Air traffic control tried to make contact with the flight, with no response. Mum started crying. Abu Agila Mohammad Mas'ud Kheir Al-Marimi was said to be the "third conspirator" behind the downing of Pan Am flight 103 in 1988. As of 2008, the remaining wreckage of the aircraft was stored about a mile from Tattershall, Lincolnshire, at Roger Windley's scrapyard (53719.35N 01258.09W / 53.1220417N 0.2161361W / 53.1220417; -0.2161361 (Windley's Scrapyard)), pending the conclusion of the American victims' civil case and further legal proceedings. The only basis for an appeal under Scots law is that a "miscarriage of justice" had occurred, which is not defined in statute, so the appeal court must determine the meaning of these words in each case.