Most people over a certain age clearly remember exactly what they were doing and who they were with the day they were told that President Kennedy had been shot in Dallas. Many people today remember feeling the same numb shock when a passenger jet fell from the sky onto the quiet village of Lockerbie, Scotland. Although many who remember the tragedy are aware that the Libyan government ultimately accepted responsibility for the disaster. What may not have been clear was that the Pan Am Flight 103 air crash investigation determined that Pan American Airlines was guilty of wilful misconduct because they had failed to match each piece of luggage in the hold with the right passenger.
There had been no suggestion that there was a fault with the plane before it took off from Frankfurt. There was other evidence that the plane had been brought down by an explosive device from within. Bombs, which are typically placed in the baggage hold, are not the only external threat to which airline passengers are exposed.
Bombs are not the only lethal menace with which the industry has to deal. There is a far more deadly enemy that cannot be risk-managed out of the picture. Since 1940, there has not been a decade gone by when at least one passenger craft has not been shot down by heavy artillery.
In 2007, a plane that was coming for a landing at a U. S. Military base in Balad, Iraq, crashed. Thirty-four people were killed and one was seriously injured when the Antonov An-26 came down. Officials tried to pass it off as a result of bad weather, but there was evidence to suggest to some people that the aircraft had been attacked by a missile.
In 1993, three Transair Georgia airliners were shot down within three days of each other during the month of September. On September 21, a flight from Sochi in Russia was hit by a surface-to-air missile and crashed into the Black Sea. All five crew and 22 passengers were killed. On September 22, another airliner, reportedly carrying soldiers from the Georgian army, was shot down and crashed on the runway. Of 132 souls on board, 108 perished. The last crash, on September 23, was the result of an artillery or mortar attack as passengers were boarding. A crew member was killed.
In 1994, American military forces were accused of shooting down an Iranian Air Force plane carrying embassy staff. All 13 crew and 19 passengers were killed. Also in 1994, the presidents of Rwanda and Burundi were killed in a crash near the capital of Rwanda. Rocket fire was blamed for bringing the plane down.
In 1980, a DC-9-10/15 transporting 81 passengers landed in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Napolean coast near the island of Ustica. The then-president of Italy believed the attack had been carried out by French nationals. It wasn't until 2013 that a criminal court in Italy found that the flight had been clearly shot down by a missile.
The earliest incident on record was a Finnish civilian transport that was shot down between Tallinn in Estonia on its way to Helsinki, Finland. This attack took place on June 14, 1940, three months after what was called the Winter War. The plane was shot down by two Soviet torpedo bombers.
There had been no suggestion that there was a fault with the plane before it took off from Frankfurt. There was other evidence that the plane had been brought down by an explosive device from within. Bombs, which are typically placed in the baggage hold, are not the only external threat to which airline passengers are exposed.
Bombs are not the only lethal menace with which the industry has to deal. There is a far more deadly enemy that cannot be risk-managed out of the picture. Since 1940, there has not been a decade gone by when at least one passenger craft has not been shot down by heavy artillery.
In 2007, a plane that was coming for a landing at a U. S. Military base in Balad, Iraq, crashed. Thirty-four people were killed and one was seriously injured when the Antonov An-26 came down. Officials tried to pass it off as a result of bad weather, but there was evidence to suggest to some people that the aircraft had been attacked by a missile.
In 1993, three Transair Georgia airliners were shot down within three days of each other during the month of September. On September 21, a flight from Sochi in Russia was hit by a surface-to-air missile and crashed into the Black Sea. All five crew and 22 passengers were killed. On September 22, another airliner, reportedly carrying soldiers from the Georgian army, was shot down and crashed on the runway. Of 132 souls on board, 108 perished. The last crash, on September 23, was the result of an artillery or mortar attack as passengers were boarding. A crew member was killed.
In 1994, American military forces were accused of shooting down an Iranian Air Force plane carrying embassy staff. All 13 crew and 19 passengers were killed. Also in 1994, the presidents of Rwanda and Burundi were killed in a crash near the capital of Rwanda. Rocket fire was blamed for bringing the plane down.
In 1980, a DC-9-10/15 transporting 81 passengers landed in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Napolean coast near the island of Ustica. The then-president of Italy believed the attack had been carried out by French nationals. It wasn't until 2013 that a criminal court in Italy found that the flight had been clearly shot down by a missile.
The earliest incident on record was a Finnish civilian transport that was shot down between Tallinn in Estonia on its way to Helsinki, Finland. This attack took place on June 14, 1940, three months after what was called the Winter War. The plane was shot down by two Soviet torpedo bombers.
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