Steve explained: There was widespread wreckage over scores of miles and we needed to make sense of that and get an idea of what had happened. collared dove,close-up of pigeon perching on tree,ecclefechan,lockerbie,united kingdom,uk - lockerbie stock pictures, royalty-free photos & images Some of the wreckage of Pan Am Flight 103 after it crashed onto the town of Lockerbie in Scotland, on 21st December 1988. At 6:25 p.m., a Pan Am Boeing 747 took off from London's Heathrow Airport on the second leg of the journey to New York City. Lockerbie's Town Hall and its ice-rink were pressed into service as temporary mortuaries and within 24 hours of the disaster, a total of 1,000 police had been drafted in, along with 500 military helpers. He was based at their HQ in Farnborough, Hants, and Pan Am arranged a plane to fly investigators to Carlisle so their probe at the crash site could start as quickly as possible. Steve said: They had some smaller aircraft based in Germany that took us up. 'What they have achieved is so uplifting and I will never forget these wonderful people. Robert Thomas Schlageter 20, Warwick, R.I. Thomas Britton Schultz, 20, Ridgefield, Conn. (SU-Ohio Wesleyan). CHILLING photographs show where the wreckage of Pan Am Flight 103 are kept 30 years after the Lockerbie Bombing. In photos: The 1988 Lockerbie plane bombing attack. ', 'We'd been used to families visiting in the streets around in similar circumstances and so their visit wasn't really unexpected. 'She was just lying in a hedge, face up, barely a scratch on her. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). Colin Dorrance was on duty outside the town hall when a farmer drove down from the hills in a pick-up truck with debris from Pan Am 103 and, placed in the front seat, the body of a young girl. There was no sign of life. But for Mr Giesecke, now 65, the discovery that night of one of those lost souls Lindsey Otenasek, the 21-year-old Syracuse University student who landed on his hedge in the back garden forged an unbreakable bond of friendship with her family in the United States. Eleven of the 270 dead were on the ground. On the fateful night, residents on the ground heard "a low rumbling noise like thunder which rapidly increased to deafening proportions like the roar of a jet engine under power.". If they had hit a mountain there might have been much greater fragmentation but they were all largely intact. (SU-Maryland Inst. Do you have a story or video for The Scottish Sun? For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/, This photo shows debris from the cockpit of Pan Am Flight 103 in a field next to Tundergarth Cemetery in Lockerbie, Lockerbie aftermath: Aerial footage shows the devastation caused by the 1998 terror attack, Today, no trace of the disaster can be found in the small graveyard, Sherwood Crescent was badly damaged in the aftermath of the bombing in 1988, But this is what the sleepy street looked like earlier this week, 30 years after it was devastated in the attack, A total of 21 homes were obliterated by falling wreckage after the plane broke up in the air - including some here, in Rosebank Crescent, It's been completely rebuilt after a 60ft section of the fuselage smashed into the rooftops, The wings hit the very edge of the A74 by the side of Sherwood Crescent, The 47-metre crater is now completely undetectable, Tonnes of twisted metal from the aircraft were spread over an 850 square mile area, Luckily, the majority of the damage at Rosebank Crescent was in the gardens of the houses, One driver was said to have had a miraculous escape when the wing-section crashed into the road, All of the ground victims died here in the Sherwood area of Lockerbie, Emergency services rushed to Lockerbie in the wake of the bombing, where most victims were either dead or suffering from minor injuries, The houses on Sherwood Crescent are now completely rebuilt after a 'meteor-like' object struck, The enormous scar on the earth and charred trees left by the wing section which was full of jet fuel when it hit, Over 1,500 tonnes of soil were displaced in the gigantic cater, which is now covered over, But the town has restored its terraces in the years since the destruction, A fragment from the Boeing 747 named 'Clipper Maid of the Seas' in a field, Now all the debris has been cleared from the terrorised town, Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). The hedge was gone and there were fresh pebbles down. On December 21, 1988, Flight 103 was en route from Frankfurt, Germany to New York via London's Heathrow Airport. The men from Brydekirk hitched a lift to Lockerbie nine miles away to help look around Tundergarth. They stood down shortly afterwards due to the minimal number of casualties, with all those involved in the tragedy either dead or having suffered minor injuries. There was glass and debris all over the place, as well as a strong smell of aviation fuel. All 259 passengers and crew on Pan Am Flight 103 were killed in the Lockerbie Bombing along with 11 locals on the ground. A cairn is a traditional Scottish monument honoring the dead. The main fuselage (body of plane) landed on the ground together . We pay for videos too. We could hear something whistling, so we went inside. Fitted to HD but never ridden. The others came from 19 other countries including France, Germany, India, Sweden, Australia and Japan. Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was jailed for life for 270 counts of murder in connection with the bombing in 2001. Last night, Mr Giesecke recalled the moment the families met for the first time, saying: 'About a year after the bombing, I remember working in my garden when I saw a couple standing uncertainly on the pavement outside my gate. Asaad Eidi Vejdany, 46, South Great Neck, N.Y. Milutin Velimirovich, 35, Middlesex, England, Nicholas Andreas Vrenios, 20, Washington, D.C. (SU). It seemed surreal. Browse 2,583 lockerbie stock photos and images available, or search for lockerbie bombing to find more great stock photos and pictures. EXCLUSIVE: Kate Anderson says she could hear the bang of the explosion from three miles away. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. The disaster involving a New York-bound 747 is the deadliest terrorist attack and aviation accident ever to have taken place in the UK. Completed in 1872, the James Whitcomb Riley Museum Home remains one of the finest preservations in the U.S. of a Victorian, Italianate home. Unaware of the hell about to unleash itself on the town of Lockerbie, Dumfriesshire, on 21 December 1988, he watched perplexed as a bright light - the broken remains of Pan Am Flight 103 - fell from the sky. News Group Newspapers Limited in England No. Thats what we do., TEENAGE cop Colin Dorrance had been a police officer for just four months when he found himself holding one of the youngest victims of the Lockerbie disaster in his arms. You did what you could to help. Lorry driver Mark Herridge recalled how the search parties rushed to the scene to try and fund survivors including himself and his brother-in-law Brian Mawson, just 21 and 20 at the time. He said: 'I could see it was a child straight away, a little girl in a red outfit and I had to look away. Katherine Augusta Hollister, 20, Rego Park, N.Y. Josephine Lisa Hudson, 22, London, England, Sophie Ailette Miriam Hudson, 26, Paris, France, Elizabeth Sophie Ivell, 19, East Sussex, England. I later read that the pilot and engineer were still strapped in their seats.'. The bodies and wreckage had come down in two main flight corridors, one of which included the Kielder forest in Northumbria, the most densely-wooded part of the UK. There was another bang and the electricity went off. Michael Warren Buser, 34, Ridgefield Park, N.J. William Martin Cadman, 32, London, England, Timothy Michael Cardwell, 21, Cresco, Pa. (SU). Jewel Courtney Mitchell, Army second lieutenant, 32, Brooklyn, N.Y. Richard Paul Monetti, 20, Cherry Hill, N.J. (SU), Helga Rachael Mosey, 19, West Midlands, England, Ingrid Elizabeth Mulroy, 25, Lund, Sweden, Mary Geraldine Murphy, 51, Middlesex, England, Jean Aitken Murray, 82, Lockerbie, Scotland. Getty Images. Robert Gerard Fortune, 40, Jackson Heights, N.Y. Stacie Denise Franklin, 20, San Diego, Calif. James Ralph Fuller, 50, Bloomfield Hills, Mich. Ibolya Robertine Gabor, 79, Budapest, Hungary. When a terrorist's explosive went off on December 21, 1988, 259 passengers and crew were killed as they flew in the Boeing 747 which was travelling from Frankfurt to Detroit, via New York and London. Blame was accepted in Tripoli and the government compensates families of the victims. For decades, the focus has rightly been on the . The Victims. We knew it was a small device so why had it brought down a large plane?. some of it in the sea and some of it in the gardens and fields of farmers living around Lockerbie. See you from 4:30-7am weekdays on 10News Brightside! 'I'd never seen a dead body before and after what I witnessed that night, I never want to see one again. Morning anchor with 10News. The 20-month-olds identity was eventually revealed to Colin when he took another victims relative to the farm where she was found and spoke to the son of the man who had driven the tot to the town that night. 'We formed a line across the field. By the time day broke on the morning after the disaster, Steve was already on site. On Wednesday 21 December, 1988, just after 7pm, Pan Am Flight 103 from London to New York exploded above the small Scottish town of Lockerbie, killing all 259 people on board and 11 people on the . Mr Herridge's search party found the body of three-year-old Sur-uchi Rattan who died along with mother Garima Rattan, and brother Anmol, two. We found ourselves having to deal with a terrorist event on top of the death of my sister. He was jailed for 27 years but died of prostate cancer aged 60 in 2012 after being released on compassionate grounds in 2009. In doing so he struck up a friendship with some of them. 21st December 1988 - Sandy Gall at ITN with the first details of the Lockerbie disaster Mrs Otenasek knows she is unlikely to visit Lockerbie again because of her age but, earlier this month, was delighted when 'Lockerbie came to her' instead. What was the Lockerbie disaster, what happened to Pan Am 103 and who were the victims? It's devastating.'. With the evidence pointing to a deliberate attack, Steve now retired after 30 years with the AAIB started to work more closely with cops as the hunt for the bombers began. He was jailed for 27 years but died of prostate cancer aged 60 in 2012 after being released on compassionate grounds in 2009. A team of cyclists from the town including Colin Dorrance, who was the youngest police officer on duty that night completed a charity fundraiser the Cycle to Syracuse which began in Scotland in September. Getty Images. It happens to the best of Us! SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- 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. After a while it was clear we wouldn't find anyone alive. Dec. 11, 2018. We later found out 98 bodies landed in our farm that night.. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). A photograph of Steve balanced on a ladder taking pictures inside the severed nosecone became one of the iconic images of the disaster. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Even although it had smashed down on its side it was huge. John Michael Gerard Ahern, 26, Rockville Centre, N.Y. Sarah Margaret Aicher, 29, London, England. 7 images; Massey ferguson 165 multipower . But despite the violence of the explosion, the victims bodies were still preserved inside the severed section. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. By RM 2H54EK7 - Memorial to the 1988 downing of Pan Am flight 103 over the Scottish town of Lockerbie resulting in the deaths of 259 on board and 11 on the ground. And 31,000ft below, 11 Lockerbie locals lost their lives when debris from the Boeing 747 crashed into residential ares, destroying 21 homes. Brittany Leigh Williams, 2 months, Crown Point, N.Y. Stephanie Leigh Williams, 1, Crown Point, N.Y. Miriam Luby Wolfe, 20, Severna Park, Md. In the end, it was very heart-warming. We just had to trust the investigative process and focused on that. Patricia Kane For The Scottish Mail On Sunday, Lockerbie then and now: Amazing photographs show how tiny Scottish town has changed 30 years on from Pan Am disaster when terror attack killed 270 people, Lockerbie's last secrets: The little boy saved by a Christmas tree, the rock star who missed fatal flight and the radar blip that suddenly became five haunting minute-by-minute details of air disaster revealed after 30 years, Mom who lost both sons to fentanyl blasts laughing Biden, Two Russian tanks annihilated with bombs by Ukrainian armed forces, Isabel Oakeshott receives 'menacing' message from Matt Hancock, Pavement where disabled woman gestured at cyclist before fatal crash, Pro-Ukrainian drone lands on Russian spy planes exposing location, 'Buster is next!' Steve said: We took 25ft either side of the blast to analyse. Rothwell says. But he still remembers the volunteers from the Salvation Army and WRVS who looked after them as they sifted through the scenes of destruction. Lockerbie farmer Kate Anderson has told the Mirror how 98 bodies rained down on her land. The horrific terrorist atrocity killed 270 people and remains one of the worst acts . Ronald Albert Lariviere, 33, Alexandria, Va. Maria Nieves Larracoechea, 39, Madrid, Spain. At the height the plane had been flying, winds were more than 100 knots. Thatcher. December 21, 1988. lockerbie bodies in trees - Bing Images | Lockerbie . To this day, Lindsey's mother, Peggy, 85, still cherishes two small pebbles from Mr Giesecke's garden she took as a permanent reminder of the spot where her daughter the youngest of her six children - was found, and of the Scottish town which treated her and other victims with such kindness and respect. You get on and do the job.. INCREDIBLE photographs taken 30 years apart show how Lockerbie has been rebuilt after flaming wreckage from Pan Am flight 103 rained down on the town. Kate and Kevin approached the shattered plane. Just minutes after the plane off at 31,000 feet, the bomb detonated . In the aftermath of Lindsey's death, the Otenasek family created a charitable foundation in her name to help fund students who want to work with special needs children. Irving Stanley Sigal, 35, Pennington, N.J. Cynthia Joan Smith, 21, Milton, Mass. The splintered parts of the aircraft were transferred there in eight lorry loads from an Army base at Longtown near Carlisle after being painstakingly sorted through. (SU-Western Maryland), Bryony Elise Owen, 18 months, Bristol, England. Sally Elizabeth Scott, 22, Huntington, N.Y. Amy Elizabeth Shapiro, 21, Stamford, Conn. (SU). (SU). Elizabeth Lillian Marek, 30, New York, N.Y. Louis Anthony Marengo, 33, Rochester, Mich. Diane Marie Maslowski, 30, New York, N.Y. William John McAllister, 26, Middlesex, England, Lilibeth Tobila McAlolooy, 27, Kelsterback, West Germany. As it came down it exploded in a fireball made worse by ruptured gas mains. STARING down into the cockpit of the shattered Lockerbie jet, air accident expert Steve Moss saw a scene he will never forget. The Lockerbie bombing took place on December 21, 1988, whenPan Am Flight 103 was blown out of the sky. The bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 on December 21, 1988, a mere four days before Christmas, continues to vex intelligence and law enforcement agencies in Europe and the United States. View our online Press Pack. Lockerbie (/ l k r b i /, Scottish Gaelic: Locarbaidh) is a small town in Dumfries and Galloway, south-western Scotland.It is about 120 kilometres (75 miles) from Glasgow, and 25 km (16 mi) from the border with England.The 2001 Census recorded its population as 4,009. Rescue . In 1988, a bombing took down Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 people. An unanticipated problem was encountered, check back soon and try again. By Sammy Westfall | Dec 11, 2022. Graphic Photos From Scene Of Malaysia Airlines Crash. Jerry Don Avritt, 46, Westminster, Calif. Clare Louise Bacciochi, 19, Warwickshire, England. Daniel Emmet McCarthy, 31, Brooklyn, N.Y. Charles Dennis McKee, Army major, 40, Arlington Hall Station, Va. Bernard Joseph McLaughlin, 30, Cranston, R.I. Jane Susan Melber, 27, Middlesex, England. (SU), Daniel Solomon Browner (BIER), 23, Parod, Israel, Colleen Renee Brunner, 20, Hamburg, N.Y. (SUNY Oswego). Email us atscoop@the-sun.co.ukor call 0141 420 5200, Scots iconic household name 'ceases trading' after 58 years, Man charged after Scots dad-of-three 'shot dead on doorstep', Scottish teacher strikes SUSPENDED following new 'historic' pay offer, Mum identified after dead baby is found on heathland, News Group Newspapers Limited in England No. Enjoy a guided tour of the preserved home of the "Hoosier Poet," James Whitcomb Riley. The comments below have not been moderated. And it was his painstaking work combing through the scattered debris that helped piece together exactly what had happened to the doomed jet. He added: 'The garden and the area had all been cleaned up by then. , updated The report reveals that some of the bodies of the 259 victims on the plane showed signs that their heartbeat could have continued either after the explosion or on impact with the ground. One man has described how they mainly found body parts, Remains of the aircraft came tumbling down onto Lockerbie when the bomb went off mid-air as the flight began the London leg, Prince Charles views the devastation at Lockerbie in 1988 after 270 people were killed in the terror attack, The wreckage of the PanAm airliner that exploded and crashed over Lockerbie in Scotland in 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 from Frankfurt to Detroit, via London and New York, blows up over Lockerbie in Scotland. Minutes before his torch beam drew his startled gaze to her lifeless figure in the darkness outside, he had been watching Michael Aspel's This is Your Life on television, when a deep rumbling sound had drawn him to the window. Pan AM 103 Lockerbie Plane Crash Bodies. There were bodies all over our farm. Thursday 22 December 1988 was the first day of a changed Lockerbie. 2014, shows bodies among the wreckage of the Malaysian airliner after it crashed near the town of Shaktarsk in rebel-held eastern Ukraine. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. A farmer had discovered the body of the toddler lying in one of his fields, then driven her to a makeshift morgue set up at the town hall. Over 1,000 cops and 500 military personnel were rushed to the site of the disaster, but nearly all of the victims were killed. Walter Leonard Porter, 35, Brooklyn, N.Y. Crisostomo Estrella Quiguyan, 43, London, England, Rajesh Tarsis Priskel Ramses, 35, Leicester, Englandg. He recalled: I couldnt believe it. Bookmark. The firm specialises in salvaging air crashes and was hired by insurance giant Lloyds to retrieve and store the wreckage, which was scattered for miles around the Scottish town. The woman looked at me and said 'I believe my daughter Lindsey was found in your garden. For many, including 35 students from Syracuse University who had been studying abroad, it . People say Lockerbie is scarred. Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi died in Tripoli in 2012. SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- 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. It will be attended by Secretary of State David Mundell, the local MP, politicians, dignitaries and locals. The Boeing 747 'Clipper. Christopher Andrew Jones, 20, Claverack, N.Y. (SU), Julianne Frances Kelly, 20, Dedham, Mass. Stephen John Boland, 20, Nashua, N.H. (SU), Nicole Elise Boulanger, 21, Shrewsbury, Mass. TWA Flight 800 were recovered as underwater investigators focused Sunday on a. potential gold mine of . Chilling images of the wrecked plane which blew apart over Lockerbie 30 years ago have emerged as the mangled metal still lays in a Lincolnshire scrapyard. It has been an absolute privilege for me to find so much good in all these people who lost loved ones, and to learn their stories. The flight was running slightly late and should already have been out over the Atlantic en route to New York. On December 1988, the Boeing 747 was scheduled to fly from Frankfurt, Germany, to Detroit, Michigan, via London and New York. What we learned has led to a lot of improvements. Robert Van Houten Jeck, 57, Mountain Lakes, N.J. Kathleen Mary Jermyn, 20, Staten Island, N.Y. Mary Alice Lincoln Johnson, 25, Wayland, Mass. Clothes had been ripped from bodies and people lay naked in fields. She said: It was silent. "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Pan Am Flight 103. (SU), Bridget Concannon, 53, Oxfordshire, England, Thomas Concannon, 51, Oxfordshire, England, Tracey Jane Corner, 17, Sheffield, England, Scott Cory, 20, Old Lyme Court, Conn. (SU), Willis Larry Coursey, 40, San Antonio, Texas. More Local News to Love Start today for 50% off Expires 3/6/23. I thought it might have been a petrol station. It was in this area, Sherwood Crescent, where 11 Lockerbie residents were killed. of Art). Among them were Lindsey's parents, Richard, an eminent neurosurgeon, and his wife, Peggy, from Baltimore, Maryland. Lockerbie farmer Kate Anderson has told the Mirror how 98 bodies rained down on her land. The remains of the plane must be stored until all investigations and appeals into the atrocity are completed. The 259 people on board the New York-bound Boeing 747 are killed, along . He'd never seen a dead body before, yet there behind him were 30 cardboard boxes, neatly piled and stowed. of Art). The mid-section containing the cargo hold where the bomb exploded remains at the HQ of the Air Accidents Investigation Branch in Farnborough. The colleges attended by some students are identified in parentheses. The crash occurred decades ago, I think first off let's refresh the setting for the crash as we. Father Patrick Keegans, Holy Trinity Church, Lockerbie Scotland, 1988: At 7:04 p.m., Pan Am Flight 103, destroyed by a bomb on board the aircraft, crashed into the town of Lockerbie. Colin, now 48 and retired, said: I didnt want to use my position to find out because in a way it had nothing to do with me. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. Keeping their memory alive will ensure that. It could have been a structural problem but then we started to find bits with characteristic damage on them shrapnel and jagged edges. A photo of Syracuse University student Shannon Davis, who died in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, with post cards and mail she sent home while she was studying in London. View our online Press Pack. Apart from the flight crew, I think there were 13 first class passengers. I showed her exactly where I'd found her and she was very grateful I could explain what happened that night. (DOMINIQUE FAGET/AFP/Getty Images) In this image taken from video, Thursday July 17, 2014, showing debris at the crash site after a passenger plane . This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. We had that fuselage for about 20 years because of all the legal appeals, but eventually we said we couldnt keep it any longer. And they soon understood the horrific reality of what had destroyed the plane. At each location, a moment of silence will be observed and a wreath laid. Caitlin Lockerbie is a worldwide Famous American reporter, television presenter, and journalist. Anne Madelene Gorgacz, 76, Newcastle, Pa. Andre Nikolai Guevorgian, 32, Seacliffe, N.Y. Nicola Jane Hall, 23, Sandton, South Africa. Yesterday, speaking from her home in Baltimore, Mrs Otenasek said: 'I will never forget meeting Peter because my darling daughter was found in his garden. Published: 13:07 GMT, 3 December 2018 | Updated: 18:32 GMT, 3 December 2018. A ir-traffic controller Alan Topp sat with his eyes fixed to the radar screen, watching the white marker indicating that Pan Am Flight 103, which had taken off from London's Heathrow airport 27 minutes before, had crossed into Scottish airspace on its voyage across the Atlantic to New York. On Dec. 21, 1988, 270 people were killed when Pan Am Flight 103 was bombed and crashed into the town of Lockerbie, Scotland . 'We were all willing for someone to be found alive. The Crown Office came and took it all away to Scotland.. Meanwhile, the bodies of the tragic passengers on board the doomed flight and their personal belongings were scattered on residential streets, surrounding gardens and the countryside around. The terrible scene in the town after the plane crashed into residential streets in 1988. . The first will take place at 9am at Rosebank Crescent, where many of the bodies of the Pan Am passengers and crew were to be found. Theodora Eugenia Cohen, 20, Port Jervis, N.Y. (SU), Eric Michael Coker, 20, Mendham, N.J. (SU-Univ. It felt like you were living in a film. Earlier this year, a review of his conviction was announced. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Lockerbie then and now: Amazing photographs show how tiny Share this article. It was clear it was in the cargo hold and the blast damage was quite obvious when you looked at it.. In photos: The 1988 Lockerbie airline bombing. Just over the fence, in Rosebank Crescent, a large chunk of the fuselage also took out whole sides of properties. Speaking for the first time since the immediate aftermath of the atrocity, she said that the cockpit of Pan Am flight 103 landed 50 yards from the remote cottage she still shares with her husband, Kevin. We needed to establish what was where on the ground because that tells what happened and the first bits to come off are of most interest. One man was sitting upright in the field. Al-Megrahi was controversially allowed to return to Libya before his deatg. Anne Linidsey Otenasek, 21, Baltimore, Md. If they want to go on to the Main Commemoration, they will be most welcome.x text. Daniel Emmett O'Connor, 31, Dorchester, Mass. OTD In 1988, A bomb placed in the baggage hold onboard Pan Am Flight 103 explodes; causing the Boeing 747 to disintegrate mid-air and eventually impacting a residential area killing all 259 passengers and crew, as well as 11 residents from Lockerbie. In 2001, Libyan intelligence officer Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was found guilty of the atrocity and sentenced to 27 years imprisionment. In the initial stages, 40 ambulances and 115 personnel attended at Lockerbie. Passengers aboard Pan Am Flight 103 were in a festive mood four days before Christmas. I got used to it. Lockerbie farmer Kate Anderson has told the Mirror how 98 bodies rained down on her land. When Pan Am Flight 103 exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland on December 21, 1988, it was carrying 35 Syracuse University students home from a semester spent studying abroad. After days of painstaking work at the crash site, Steve and the initial team of investigators were finally sent home for a belated Christmas with their families.