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 greatest aviation disaster in British history took place on December 21, 1988. Soon after taking off from Heathrow Airport in London, an airplane of the Pan Am airline exploded in the air over the Scottish town of Lockerbie. The initial investigation showed that the explosion was caused by a bomb on the plane.
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 an investigation lasting three years, two Libyan nationals were accused of the bombing. They were only handed over for trial in 1999 and eventually one was found guilty. He was sentenced to life imprisonment, appealed twice and was eventually released on compassionate grounds in 2009. Libya accepted responsibility for the bombing and paid compensation to the victims' families.
Conspiracy theorists believe that Libya never was responsible for the atrocity. There are several theories about what really happened. One of the more bizarre ones is that the CIA was the guilty party, having bombed the plane so that two agents on board couldn't tell anyone about a drug-running operation that the CIA was involved in. According to this theory, the operation was being run in return for information that would help secure the release of hostages in Syria.
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.
Calls for an independent inquiry into the incident have been growing more vocal over the years. Online petitions asked that such an inquiry should be led by the UN and should try to find the truth behind the Lockerbie bombing. Family member of some victims signed the petitions, along with some prominent members of society.
It is uncertain whether there ever will be a new inquiry into the Lockerbie bombing. However since not all the legal proceedings surrounding the case have been finalized yet, the plane's recovered wreckage is still being kept as evidence. This means that a new Pan Am flight 103 air crash investigation would not be impossible.
The greatest aviation disaster in British history took place on December 21, 1988. Soon after taking off from Heathrow Airport in London, an airplane of the Pan Am airline exploded in the air over the Scottish town of Lockerbie. The initial investigation showed that the explosion was caused by a bomb on the plane.
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 an investigation lasting three years, two Libyan nationals were accused of the bombing. They were only handed over for trial in 1999 and eventually one was found guilty. He was sentenced to life imprisonment, appealed twice and was eventually released on compassionate grounds in 2009. Libya accepted responsibility for the bombing and paid compensation to the victims' families.
Conspiracy theorists believe that Libya never was responsible for the atrocity. There are several theories about what really happened. One of the more bizarre ones is that the CIA was the guilty party, having bombed the plane so that two agents on board couldn't tell anyone about a drug-running operation that the CIA was involved in. According to this theory, the operation was being run in return for information that would help secure the release of hostages in Syria.
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.
Calls for an independent inquiry into the incident have been growing more vocal over the years. Online petitions asked that such an inquiry should be led by the UN and should try to find the truth behind the Lockerbie bombing. Family member of some victims signed the petitions, along with some prominent members of society.
It is uncertain whether there ever will be a new inquiry into the Lockerbie bombing. However since not all the legal proceedings surrounding the case have been finalized yet, the plane's recovered wreckage is still being kept as evidence. This means that a new Pan Am flight 103 air crash investigation would not be impossible.
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