Later this year it will be 25 years since a Scottish village was thrust into the world's spotlight due to terrorism. That village is Lockerbie, and the act of terrorism caused the loss of 270 lives. Only 38 minutes into a journey between London and New York, the Jumbo Jet exploded in midair killing all of those onboard. This is a shortened account of the Pan Am flight 103 air crash investigation.
As the explosion took place at 31,000 feet the wreckage and debris was spread over a wide area. The area was so vast that not only were surveys conducted by helicopter, but also satellite imagery was used. In one way it was fortunate that the aircraft's departure had been delayed, as that meant that the wreckage was recoverable. Had it been on time then the debris would have fallen over the ocean and the ensuing analysis would have been severely hampered.
More than ten thousand items of debris were collected. Every single one was tagged and logged into a computer program. Even some major structures which had fallen on or around Lockerbie itself. The flight data recorder was discovered the next day, by a pair of boys who found it near to some woods.
The whole proceedings involved more than a thousand people, and involved scouring large areas of southern Scotland for several months. The military became involved and helped with manpower and equipment. The local school's gymnasium was used as an initial collection point. Every item once logged was given an x-ray and scanned by 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.
Through painstaking efforts by air accident investigators the fuselage was slowly reconstructed. It was discovered that a 20 inch square section of fuselage had been severely damaged by an explosion. This was in an area adjacent to the forward cargo hold.
The recovered baggage containers all had damage expected following their fall from altitude. However there were two which also had some other unusual damage. By using the loading records they were able to determine their actual positions within the hold. Tests were carried out to see how much explosives would be needed to create the same damage, and also where it would be placed.
From all of this information it was possible for the investigators to identify which suitcase held the suspect device, and even what it contained. It had begun its journey in Malta, as identified from some items of clothing. They even managed to trace the merchant in Sliema in Malta. He identified one of the chief suspects as the man he had sold the clothes to.
After 3 long years the Pan Am flight 103 air crash investigation came to a close. It had involved many different agencies from various countries, although it had been primarily a UK/US operation. Due to all of the care, and attention to detail, throughout the 3 years the perpetrators had to stand trial in the Netherlands, which was deemed a neutral country.
As the explosion took place at 31,000 feet the wreckage and debris was spread over a wide area. The area was so vast that not only were surveys conducted by helicopter, but also satellite imagery was used. In one way it was fortunate that the aircraft's departure had been delayed, as that meant that the wreckage was recoverable. Had it been on time then the debris would have fallen over the ocean and the ensuing analysis would have been severely hampered.
More than ten thousand items of debris were collected. Every single one was tagged and logged into a computer program. Even some major structures which had fallen on or around Lockerbie itself. The flight data recorder was discovered the next day, by a pair of boys who found it near to some woods.
The whole proceedings involved more than a thousand people, and involved scouring large areas of southern Scotland for several months. The military became involved and helped with manpower and equipment. The local school's gymnasium was used as an initial collection point. Every item once logged was given an x-ray and scanned by 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.
Through painstaking efforts by air accident investigators the fuselage was slowly reconstructed. It was discovered that a 20 inch square section of fuselage had been severely damaged by an explosion. This was in an area adjacent to the forward cargo hold.
The recovered baggage containers all had damage expected following their fall from altitude. However there were two which also had some other unusual damage. By using the loading records they were able to determine their actual positions within the hold. Tests were carried out to see how much explosives would be needed to create the same damage, and also where it would be placed.
From all of this information it was possible for the investigators to identify which suitcase held the suspect device, and even what it contained. It had begun its journey in Malta, as identified from some items of clothing. They even managed to trace the merchant in Sliema in Malta. He identified one of the chief suspects as the man he had sold the clothes to.
After 3 long years the Pan Am flight 103 air crash investigation came to a close. It had involved many different agencies from various countries, although it had been primarily a UK/US operation. Due to all of the care, and attention to detail, throughout the 3 years the perpetrators had to stand trial in the Netherlands, which was deemed a neutral country.
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