Conspiracy Theories And The Pan Am Flight 103 Air Crash Investigation

By Angela Briggs


Conspiracy theorists seem to love tragic, newsworthy events. For instance, it wasn't long after the attacks on the World Trade Center in September 2001 that books and documentary films started appearing to say that it wasn't really Al-Qaeda that was responsible. Another act of terrorism still has people talking even after more than two decades and some even call for a new Pan Am flight 103 air crash investigation.

The events of December 21, 1988 were the greatest disaster in British aviation history. An aircraft from the American airline Pan Am exploded in flight not long after it took off from Heathrow Airport. A bomb had caused the explosion, which happened in the air above Lockerbie, a small town in Scotland.

The explosion caused the aircraft to disintegrate. All passengers and crew were killed. However, the disaster was made worse when pieces of the plane fell onto Lockerbie and killed a further 11 people who were living in the town. A total of 270 people died, of which 189 were American. Britain lost 43 of its citizens and other victims came from countries as diverse as Argentina, India, Jamaica and South Africa.

After three years of countless interviews and studying every possible piece of forensic evidence, investigators concluded that their suspects were two Libyans. The Libyan government wouldn't release the men to the UK for trial until 1999. One man was declared guilty and received a life sentence. He appealed and kept maintaining his innocence until he died years later. The government of Libya never admitted guilt either but accepted responsibility and paid compensation to the families of those who died.

Several conspiracy theories have arisen about the Lockerbie bombing, claiming that Libya was framed. One of the theories involves the CIA, which had allegedly been running a drug-smuggling operation on the route in exchange for information about hostage situations in Syria. Two of the passengers on the flight were American intelligence officers who, the theory goes, were on their way to the US to blow the whistle on the operation.

Maybe a little less far-fetched is the theory that the bomb was used to assassinate the newly appointed UN commissioner to Namibia, who died in the crash too. South Africa was busy negotiating the handing over of Namibia to the control of the UN at the time. Interestingly, South Africa's Minister of Foreign Affairs and members of his delegation were supposed to be on Flight 103 but had changed their plans.

Especially since the man found responsible was released in 2009 for compassionate reasons, some family members of those who were killed and some prominent figures have been calling for a new investigation. They started petitions online to find support. Their wish is that an independent inquiry, under leadership of the UN, will uncover the truth about who really was responsible for the tragedy and whether justice had been served.

The case hasn't been reopened yet. This doesn't mean it's over, however. Some legal proceedings are still ongoing and therefore the wreckage is still held as evidence. In other words, another Pan Am flight 103 air crash investigation is not entirely impossible in future.




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