Pan Am Flight 103: Destination Disaster

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Table of Contents

The Explosion of the Pan Am Flight 103
Criminal Inquiry and the Result of Investigation
Other Factors That May Have Contributed to the Plane Crash
Legislative Initiatives Triggered by the Pan Am Flight 103 Bombing
Memorial
References

Over the years, the aviation industry has remained a high-profile terrorism target. Whether through sabotage or hijacking, terrorists have continually developed new ways of attacking airlines. Research indicates that attacks on airports and airlines formed a large proportion of terrorist operations in the 1960s and 1970s (Szyliowicz & Zamparini, 2018). During the 1960s, commercial airlines provided terrorists with mobility and targets to use as leverage against certain governments (Szyliowicz & Zamparini, 2018). In addition, airline sabotage became a common strategy for punishing different countries based on high body counts (Szyliowicz & Zamparini, 2018).

The aviation sector provides accessible targets to terrorists who have limited chances to operate in countries whose policies or governments they resist. Additionally, some terrorists target airlines due to the publicity of such attacks (Szyliowicz & Zamparini, 2018). However, with the enhanced passenger screening and international cooperation achieved over the decades, cases of airline hijacking and sabotage have gradually declined. The terrorist attack on Pan Am Flight 103 was one of the saddest moments in United States history. The attack resulted in massive loss of lives and great distrust for the aviation sector.

The Explosion of the Pan Am Flight 103

The Pan Am Flight 103 blast, also known as the Lockerbie bombing, is one of the most devastating terror attacks in history. On 21 December 1988, a passenger airliner under the management of Pan American World Airways (Pan Am) exploded mid-air approximately 40 minutes after take-off (Swire & Biddulph, 2021). The plane, traveling from London to New York, blew up over Lockerbie in Scotland, killing several people in the area (“The bombing of Pan Am Flight 103,” 2018). Research indicates that the explosion was triggered by a timer-activated bomb that detonated when the airliner reached an altitude of 31,000 feet (“The bombing of Pan Am,” 2018).

It is crucial to note that Pan Am Flight 103 was traveling from Frankfurt, Germany, to New York through London’s Heathrow airport (“The bombing of Pan Am,” 2018). The tragedy shocked governments across the world due to the unpreparedness of airlines in detecting such terrorist attacks.

Flight 103’s explosion resulted in the massive loss of lives. Research shows that the blast killed all the people aboard, including 16 crew members and 243 passengers. In addition, the explosion resulted in the death of 11 Lockerbie locals who were hit when the plane’s wreckage reached the ground. Cumulatively, the attack killed 270 individuals from 21 nationalities (“The bombing of Pan Am,” 2018). Nevertheless, the United States suffered immensely since 190 victims were Americans. Of the 190 Americans, 35 were Syracuse University students studying abroad (“Pan Am Flight 103 Memorial,” n.d.). Due to the death of many Americans, the attack was presumed to target the United States, raising more terrorism fears in the country.

Criminal Inquiry and the Result of Investigation

The investigation was conducted through the joint efforts of law enforcement units from different countries. The criminal investigation indicated that the Pan Am Flight 103 tragedy, one of the deadliest aviation disasters in the 1980s, was a retaliatory attack against the United States (“Pan Am Flight,” 2022). Although the individuals aboard the flight were from different countries, most of these passengers were Americans. Consequently, the investigative agencies suspected the incident was deliberately executed in payback for the 1986 air strikes that America launched in Libya for sponsoring terrorism against its citizens and its troops (“Pan Am Flight,” 2022).

The United States’ military activity is reported to have caused the demise of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s young daughter and dozens of other people (“U.S. Bombs Terrorist,” 2022). Additionally, in 1988, the United States mistakenly shot down an Iran Air commercial plane over the Persian Gulf, leading to 290 deaths. These two events are some of the factors believed to have contributed to the hatred toward Americans. Thus, this motivated extremist groups to target United States citizens due to the high value the government gives to human life.

The authorities indicated that Pan Am Flight 103 incident was a terrorist act. In this case, the forensic examination of evidence collected established that the plane was crashed by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED). The investigators revealed that the IED was built with Semtex, an odorless and virtually undetectable plastic explosive (Swire & Biddulph, 2021). A report shows that the then Czechoslovak leader, Vaclav Havel disclosed that his country’s previous rulers provided the Libyan government with 1,000 tons of Semtex (“Remembering the 1988 Lockerbie Bombing,” 2019). The explosive chemical was used in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103.

The IED was hidden in a Toshiba radio cassette player, which was believed to have converted it into a delayed time bomb (Clary, 2020). The forensic examination and aircraft reconstruction indicated that the explosive device had been placed inside a suitcase beneath some clothing. The gadget exploded in the cargo area, destroying the plane in pieces that landed in an area extending about 850 square miles (“Pan Am Flight,” 2022). Islamic terrorists were associated with planting the EID on the plane while in Frankfurt, Germany.

The intelligence sources revealed that Libyan nationals were the main suspects behind the Flight 103 accident. In 1991, following the review of the evidence, a warrant of arrest was issued for two Libyan intelligence operatives. These officers included Lamen Khalifa Fhimah and Ali al-Megrahi (Hosenball & Shepardson, 2020). Despite the suspects being indicted for murder, the Libyan government initially refused to extradite them to America. An agreement was, however, reached for a trial to take place on a neutral territory under the laws of Scotland, following extensive international negotiations supported by America and United Nations sanctions (“Pan Am Flight,” 2022).

In 2001, Megrahi was found guilty of the Lockerbie bombing and convicted to life in prison while his associated Fhimah was cleared of all charges (“Pan Am Flight,” 2022). However, in 2009, Megrahi was released on compassionate grounds because of his terminal illness before dying in 2012. (“Pan Am Flight,” 2022). In 2020, Abu Agila Mas’ud, a third suspect, was also charged with criminal counts related to the incident (Hosenball & Shepardson, 2020). Thus, Masud’s arraignment concluded the search for justice for those affected by the Flight 103 incident.

Other Factors That May Have Contributed to the Plane Crash

Although terrorism was suspected based on previous terrorist threats against America, laxity or violation of aviation guidelines by Pan Am Flight 103 could not be overlooked. The United States federal court found the American airline operator guilty of wilful misconduct for failing to prevent the EID from being smuggled into the plane (Clary, 2020). Several days before the incident, the American embassy in Finland received a report that an explosive device would be planted on a Pan Am plane from Germany (“Pan Am Flight,” 2022).

In this case, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) headquarters in Washington issued an alert regarding the terror attack to all American airline operators. Therefore, the operator security department’s failure to initiate proper actions and warn the passengers about the bomb threat was termed a breach of the United States laws by Pan Am in implementing the international Warsaw Convention (Cluxton, 2022). Thus, there were reasons to believe that Flight 103 never seriously considered the gravity of the threat to alert passengers about the terrorist plot or even train and prepare its security personnel to subvert it.

Significant concerns were also directed toward the aviation security system. Apart from linking human failure to the bombing of Flight 103, the commission on Aviation Security and Terrorism indicated that the aviation security system used was flawed and inefficient (“Remembering the 1988 Lockerbie Bombing,” 2019). In this case, the terrorist attack of Pan Am may have been prevented. The commission indicated that the plastic explosive planted on the plane would have to have been twice as heavy to be detected by the x-ray machines described by FAA. Therefore, the success of the airline terrorist event was also attributed to machine failure (Hay, 2019).

In this regard, the commission’s report indicated that the priority was to design a system that would easily detect plastic explosives and be less prone to technical errors to prevent a catastrophe. Thus, the Lockerbie incident indicated that some of the explosives used by terrorists were nonmetallic, and not having predictable shapes made their detection difficult. In this case, the use of standard x-ray technology did not aid in detecting plastic EID used in the Pan AM bombing.

FAA was also held liable for its failure to enforce its own rules. According to the regulations set by the agency, all United States flight operators must conduct a physical search on every unaccompanied luggage from high-threat airports (“Advisory Circular,” 2018). In addition, the law directs all security airport personnel to delay departing flights whenever a suitcase is not associated with a passenger on board. This directive was primarily designed to detect and prevent bombs from being planted or transferred to any of the country’s carriers. This FAA guideline was enacted after the Air India Flight 182 catastrophe that occurred over the Atlantic Ocean, leading to the death of 329 passengers in 1985 (Bobb, 2022). This incident resulted from an unaccompanied suitcase placed on the Air India plane by a Sikh bomber in Canada. Thus, Pan Am’s failure to X-ray all interline baggage from all passengers connecting from other air carriers was in contravention of the United States regulation.

Legislative Initiatives Triggered by the Pan Am Flight 103 Bombing

The crash of Flight 103 acted as an eye-opener to governments around the world regarding airline security. One of the key players who pressured the United States government to initiate policies to enhance airline passenger safety was the Victims of Pan Am Flight 103 (VPAF 103) organization (Ortbals & Poloni-Staudinger, 2018). This association involved the families of individuals who perished in the blast and has been instrumental in improving airline security in the United States over the years.

One of the major reforms prompted by the Flight 103 tragedy was the Warsaw Convention of 1929. The convention was tasked with determining the airline’s liability in cases of injury or death of passengers as well as damage or loss of cargo and baggage (Cluxton, 2022).

Prior to the Pan Am Flight 103 catastrophe, the Warsaw Convention stipulated that passengers would be compensated $75,000 in damages and required them to prove willful neglect by the airline to get additional compensation (Cluxton, 2022). This implied that the families of people who perished in the bombing would need to verify that the airline’s negligence caused the blast to obtain additional compensation. In addition, under the Warsaw agreement, the recovery claims were limited to economic damages that benefited crash victims who survived and were employed (Cluxton, 2022). This implied that families of the 35 Syracuse students who perished in the crash would not receive compensation for economic damages.

Nevertheless, the bombing of Flight 103 triggered several changes to the Warsaw agreement. In this case, the Montreal Convention of 1999 (MC99) replaced the Warsaw Convention (“The Montreal Convention,” 2021). MC99 was created with the objective of increasing available damages in regard to the death or injury of a passenger. Under this convention, airlines are liable for damages in aviation accidents leading to passenger injury or deaths (“The Montreal Convention,” 2021). This implies that passengers do not have to verify that the airline or a pilot was at fault in order to receive compensation.

In addition, under the MC99, in case of a passenger’s injury or death, the airline’s liability limit is set at 128,821 special drawing rights (SDR), which is adjustable to inflation (“The Montreal Convention,” 2021). Equally, MC99 modified the jurisdictional requirements of Warsaw and permitted victims or their families to sue foreign airlines where they retain their principal residence (“The Montreal Convention,” 2021). Therefore, it is evident that the bombing initiated reforms to protect passengers following aviation accidents.

The Flight 103 attack triggered the enactment of several bills in the United States. In this case, the Airport Technology and Research Act (ATRA) was enacted in 1989 (“H.R.1534,” n.d.). ATRA was aimed at enhancing airport security by necessitating the installation and usage of explosive detection technologies in numerous airports across the country (“H.R.1534,” n.d.). The legislation was based on the idea that x-rays and metal detectors were ineffective in detecting Semtex explosives, like in the case of Flight 103. Similarly, the Pan Am Flight 103 prompted the proposal of the Aviation Security Act in 1989, which was later shelved (“H.R. 1659,” 2022).

The proposed law aimed to improve airline safety by ensuring that all air carriers deployed explosive detection equipment whose efficiency was better or equal to the thermal neutron analysis (TNA) technology (“H.R. 1659,” 2022). Although these 1989 bills are defunct, they provided a critical framework for developing more advanced regulations that have enhanced airport security over the years. Thus, Flight 103 bombing greatly influenced increased government efforts to improve safety in airports and aboard airlines.

Memorial

Each year, families and friends of individuals who perished in Pan Am Flight 103 hold a memorial service in remembrance of their loved ones. The memorial held on the 21^st of December every year is critical, especially for the Syracuse University community, which lost 35 students in the tragedy (“Pan Am Flight 103 Memorial,” n.d.). In commemoration of the victims of Pan Am Flight 103, a cairn was erected at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia (“Pan Am Flight 103,” n.d.). The cairn, which was a gift from the Scottish people to the Americans, is made of 270 blocks of red Scottish sandstone and was financed by private donors (“Pan Am Flight 103,” n.d.).

In Scotland, a cairn is a traditional monument built to honor the dead. The Arlington Cemetery was designated as the location of the memorial cairn in 1993 following a unanimous Congress agreement that promoted the bill to be enacted by the then President Bill Clinton (“Pan Am Flight 103,” n.d). Therefore, the presence of the memorial cairn serves as a reminder of the tragedy and allows families and close friends to continue mourning their loved ones.

In conclusion, the aviation industry is among the top targets of terrorism. Terrorists attack airlines through hijackings or sabotage to punish governments that oppose them. Pan Am Flight 103 is one of the most devastating attacks in the history of the United States. The bombing, which is perceived as retaliation for United States air strikes in Libya, killed 270 people, including 243 passengers, 16 staff, and 11 residents of Lockerbie, where the plane crashed. Although the passengers belonged to different nationalities, the United States had the highest death toll of 190 people, out of which 35 were Syracuse University students.

The investigations linked two Libyan intelligence officers with the bombing who were indicted for murder. Nevertheless, one was later acquitted, and the main suspect was freed due to terminal illness. However, Flight 103’s attack triggered a series of legislations aiming to improve airline security. In this case, the Warsaw treaty was replaced by the Montreal Convention, which increased the compensation for victims of air crashes. In addition, the 1989 aviation bills, such as ATRA, provided a framework upon which improved regulations were created to enhance airline safety.

References

Advisory circular. (2018). Federal Aviation Administration. Web.

Bobb, D. (2022). Destination disaster: How Air India’s ill-fated Kanishka aircraft was bombed. India Today. Web.

The bombing of Pan Am Flight 103: 30 years later, still actively seeking justice. (2018). Federal Bureau of Investigation. Web.

Clary, M. Q. (2020). From pariah to phoenix: Improving a national reputation from the ashes of the past. Lexington Books.

Cluxton, D. (2022). Aviation law cause of action exclusivity in the Warsaw and Montreal Conventions. Edward Elgar Publishing

H.R. 1659 (101st): Aviation security act of 1989. (2022). GovTrack. Web.

H.R.1534 – Airport security technology and research act of 1989. (n.d.). Library of Congress. Web.

Hay, A. (2019). A brief history of airline security, hijackings, and metal detectors. IBM. Web.

Hosenball, M., & Shepardson, D. (2020). U.S. charges Libyan man in 1988 Pam Am Flight 103 bombing. Reuters. Web.

The Montreal Convention and international passenger rights. (2021). Slack Davis Sanger. Web.

Ortbals, C. D., & Poloni-Staudinger, L. M. (2018). Gender and political violence: Women changing the politics of terrorism. Springer.

Pan Am Flight 103 explodes over Scotland. (2022). History. Web.

Pan Am Flight 103 memorial (Lockerbie Memorial Cairn). (n.d.). Arlington National Cemetery. Web.

Pan Am Flight 103 memorial service. (n.d.). Syracuse University. Web.

Remembering the 1988 Lockerbie bombing. (2019). History. Web.

Swire, J., & Biddulph, P. (2021). The Lockerbie bombing: A father’s search for justice. Birlinn.

Szyliowicz, J. S., & Zamparini, L. (Eds.). (2018). Air transport security: Issues, challenges and national policies. Edward Elgar Publishing.

U.S. bombs terrorist and military targets in Libya. (2022). History. Web.

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