The Lockerbie Bombing, December 21, 1988

Abstract

On Wednesday, December 21, 1988, at 6:25 p.m., Pan-Am Flight 103 "Maid of the Seas" took off from London Heathrow Airport en route from Frankfurt bound for J.F. Kennedy Airport in New York with a designated flight path over Scotland. At 7:02 p.m., the Boeing 747 was given oceanic clearance from Shanwick Ocean Control, but the transmissions were not acknowledged. Flight 103 disappeared from radar screens at this time, and no further radio communications were received. Multiple primary radar returns were then seen fanning out downwind for a considerable distance. At 7:03 p.m., while at 31,000 feet, the plane had exploded over the Scottish town of Lockerbie due to an improvised explosive device (IED) concealed in the cargo hold. All 259 persons onboard were killed, including 243 passengers and 16 crew, as were 11 residents of the town from falling debris onto a residential area. The victims represented 21 nationalities, the average age being 27 years.