Almost a quarter of a century ago a small Scottish village became known throughout the world because of an act of terrorism. The name of that village was Lockerbie, and that terrorist act claimed 270 lives. The Jumbo Jet was just over half an hour into its flight, from London's Heathrow to New York's JFK, when an explosion took place. Following is an abbreviated look at the Pan Am flight 103 air crash investigation.
Due to the incident happening so high up, 31000 feet, the ensuing debris and wreckage landed over a vast area. The surveys had to be carried out by military helicopters as the area to be covered was so big, even satellite pictures were used. In an odd way a stroke of luck meant that the plane's departure at London was delayed. So instead of the wreckage falling out to sea it fell on land.
In total over 10,000 pieces of debris were recovered, and these were all catalogued and logged into a computer system. There were several large components which had fallen on or around the village of Lockerbie. The following day the flight data recorder, the infamous black box, was found close to some woods by a couple of local boys.
The analysis was a major operation which involved over 1000 people, scouring a lot of southern Scotland over several months. The military were called in to bolster the efforts, with manpower and equipment. The recovered debris was initially taken to a local school's gymnasium. Each piece was x-rayed and passed through a gas chromatograph.
In the early stages there were no clues about what had caused the incident. From material collected over the next couple of days it became clear that an explosion had occurred. Traces of a Semtex like substance were being detected. It is also claimed that pieces of an electronic timing device were located amongst the wreckage.
The UK's AAIB slowly, and with great care, began the process of reconstructing the plane's fuselage section. As a result they were able to determine the location of the explosion, as an area of 20 square inches had severe blast damage. This was located alongside the forward hold area.
The baggage containers were mainly consistent with damage that would be expected from a fall of great height. However two of them showed unusual damage patterns. Their exact positions were found from the loading records. Tests were carried out in America to determine the exact quantity and location of explosives to cause the same damage.
Piece by piece it was possible for the investigators to state which piece of luggage held the explosive device. Also what it contained. From clothing labels they were able to narrow the point of origin to Malta. They were even able to interview the merchant who sold the clothes. In his statements he described, and later identified, the person who had bought the clothes.
The Pan Am flight 103 air crash investigation took more than 3 years to complete. Agencies from various countries assisted throughout, but it was mainly overseen by those from the UK and America. Thanks to their diligence the suspects were sent for trial, which was held in Holland.
Due to the incident happening so high up, 31000 feet, the ensuing debris and wreckage landed over a vast area. The surveys had to be carried out by military helicopters as the area to be covered was so big, even satellite pictures were used. In an odd way a stroke of luck meant that the plane's departure at London was delayed. So instead of the wreckage falling out to sea it fell on land.
In total over 10,000 pieces of debris were recovered, and these were all catalogued and logged into a computer system. There were several large components which had fallen on or around the village of Lockerbie. The following day the flight data recorder, the infamous black box, was found close to some woods by a couple of local boys.
The analysis was a major operation which involved over 1000 people, scouring a lot of southern Scotland over several months. The military were called in to bolster the efforts, with manpower and equipment. The recovered debris was initially taken to a local school's gymnasium. Each piece was x-rayed and passed through a gas chromatograph.
In the early stages there were no clues about what had caused the incident. From material collected over the next couple of days it became clear that an explosion had occurred. Traces of a Semtex like substance were being detected. It is also claimed that pieces of an electronic timing device were located amongst the wreckage.
The UK's AAIB slowly, and with great care, began the process of reconstructing the plane's fuselage section. As a result they were able to determine the location of the explosion, as an area of 20 square inches had severe blast damage. This was located alongside the forward hold area.
The baggage containers were mainly consistent with damage that would be expected from a fall of great height. However two of them showed unusual damage patterns. Their exact positions were found from the loading records. Tests were carried out in America to determine the exact quantity and location of explosives to cause the same damage.
Piece by piece it was possible for the investigators to state which piece of luggage held the explosive device. Also what it contained. From clothing labels they were able to narrow the point of origin to Malta. They were even able to interview the merchant who sold the clothes. In his statements he described, and later identified, the person who had bought the clothes.
The Pan Am flight 103 air crash investigation took more than 3 years to complete. Agencies from various countries assisted throughout, but it was mainly overseen by those from the UK and America. Thanks to their diligence the suspects were sent for trial, which was held in Holland.
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