Pan Am Flight 103 Bombing
Much has been written in recent years about terrorist attacks and weapons of mass destruction. Explosives are the weapon of choice for many terrorists as reported by the media on a routine basis. The bombing of the Pan Am Flight 103 that occurred on December 21, 1988 over Lockerbie and Galloway was no different. This bombing became the largest criminal investigation that was led by the smallest police force. (CIA) The New York bound flight fell out of the sky being in the air less than 40 minutes and killed all 243 passengers, 16 crew members and 11 people in Lockerbie. The explosion that occurred led to a deconstruction of the aircraft that happen rapidly. (CIA) The debris of the plane and the victim’s bodies were scattered along an 845 square mile radius. (CIA) The search parties were split up into 8 – 10 people and told “If it isn’t growing and it isn’t a rock, pick it up”. (The Crash of Pan Am Flight 103) Within hours the images of the crash site that were taken by the French satellites as well as the United States Department of Defense and National Aeronautics and Space Administration were delivered to the investigators. Thousands of pieces of debris where found, bagged, tagged and entered into a computer tracking system. (Encyclopedia) Every piece of evidence was taken to a school gymnasium, X-rayed and was checked for explosives using a gas chromatograph. All results were then entered into an information system called home Office Large Major Enquiry System On December 28, it was determined that an improvised explosive device was used to blow up Flight 103. The evidence was moved to the AAIB’s headquarter in Farnborough Airfield (where it still remains) reconstruction of the fuselage. Once the reconstruction was done the investigators found that the area with a 20 inch squared whole on the left side on the lower fuselage and the skin had patterns that were consistent with an explosion. (Wikipedia) With further examination the investigators