Pan Am Flight 103 was destroyed by a terrorist bomb on December 21, 1988. The Boeing 747, named Clipper Maid of the Seas, was en-route from London Heathrow to New York JFK when it exploded over the small town of Lockerbie, Scotland. All 259 passengers on board and 11 people on the ground were killed. Thirty-five of the victims were students studying abroad through Syracuse University.
In response to an unsubstantiated threat received by its embassy in Helsinki, Finland, on December 5, 1988 the United States Government notifies airlines, airports and embassies in Europe of a possible bomb attack against a Pan American World Airways flight leaving Frankfurt, Germany.
Pan American World Airways Flight 103 traveling from London Heathrow to New York-JFK explodes 31,000 feet above Lockerbie, Scotland.
British investigators report that crash debris indicates a bomb in the forward luggage compartment caused the explosion of Pan American Flight 103.
The circumstances surrounding the Helsinki Warning (see 5 Dec 1988) are released to the public.
The Department of Transport's Air Accidents Investigation Branch announces that a bomb placed in the forward cargo hold of Clipper Maid of the Seas caused the midair destruction of Pan Am Flight 103.
British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher joins 700 mourners at a memorial service for the victims of Pan Am Flight 103 (known internationally as the Lockerbie Air Disaster), held at Dryfesdale Church in Lockerbie.
An interfaith memorial service held at Syracuse University’s Carrier Dome is attended by approximately 15,000 people.
Syracuse University ROTC holds a memorial service to honor Timothy Michael Cardwell.
A memorial service is held at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City to honor the 270 people killed in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103.
A symbolic burial is held in Lockerbie for the 17 Pan Am Flight 103 victims whose bodies were never found or identified.
Reports issued on February 6, 1989 say that western intelligence agencies concluded the week before that the bombing of Pan Am 103 was commissioned by Iran and carried out by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC), with support from Syria and Libya.
A press conference is held in New York City so family members may speak out publicly about the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 and the U.S. Government's response.
A meeting of 50-60 victims’ family members is held at the home of Tom and Dorothy Coker, father and step-mother of victims Jason and Eric Coker, in New Jersey.
The first official meeting (see 11 Feb 1989) of the Victims of Pan Am 103, Inc. is held in the meeting room of the Crow's Nest restaurant on Rte. 17 in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey.
Members of the Victims of Pan Am Flight 103, Inc. testify before the Senate Transportation Appropriations Sub-committee.
While on a trip to Europe Syracuse University Chancellor Eggers takes time to visit Lockerbie, Scotland where Pan Am Flight 103 crashed in December, 1988.
Relatives and friends hold a demonstration in front of the White House.
Lockerbie Air Disaster Friendship Group for Relatives is established by members of the Lockerbie community who wish to assist relatives visiting the village and the crash scene.
The Aviation Security Act of 1989 is passed. The Act deals mainly with financial issues surrounding taxes that fund aviation security.
A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulation is issued requiring airlines to order and install bomb detectors capable of identifying plastic explosives.
President H.W. Bush signs Executive Order 12686 creating the President’s Commission on Aviation Security and Terrorism (PCAST).
Pan Am 103 family members gather at the Pan Am Building in New York City.
The Federal Aviation Administration fines Pan American World Airways $630,000 for repeatedly violating security procedures the day that Pan Am Flight 103 was blown up.
The House Foreign Affairs International Operations Subcommittee, chaired by Congresswoman Cardiss Collins, holds hearings focused on aviation security.
The Presidents Commission on Aviation Security and Terrorism (see 4 Aug 1989; 15 May 1990) holds its first public hearing.
Two memorial events are held in Lockerbie, Scotland on the first anniversary of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103.
The Syracuse University Men's Lacrosse Team funded a trip to Scotland in December, 1989. Thirty-six players, four coaches and five support personnel visited the Memorial Wall in Lockerbie to remember their teammate Turhan Ergin, who was one of the 35 Syracuse University students killed in the bombing. Coach Roy Simmons Jr. told his team 'Our trip to England/Scotland is a privilege, not a right...Be a vital, kind and caring student who is helping dry up the tears of a year ago...Together, we can soften the sorrow.’
U.S. District Judge Thomas C. Platt rules against the families of Pan Am 103 victims who are suing Pan Am World Airways, Inc. for punitive damages.
"The Trustees of the Lockerbie [Trust] are delighted to announce the first scholarships in the historic agreement with Syracuse University. After the most searching scrutiny of all applications, the standard of which was very impressive, the Trustees chose-Fiona Griffin and Katharine Grant." -Lockerbie Air Disaster Trust Press Notice
Syracuse University dedicates a memorial to the victims of Pan Am Flight 103, known as the Place of Remembrance.
Pan American World Airways, Inc. reaches out of court settlements with 250 Scottish families whose relatives were killed or injured because of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103.
The final public hearing of the President's Commission on Aviation Security and Terrorism (PCAST) is held (see 4 Aug 1989; 17 Nov 1989).
S.R. 326 passes, naming December, 21 as a “Day of Observance for the Victims of Terrorism.”
The Victims of Pan Am 103, Inc. announces that the Lockerbie Trust Fund has pledged its intent to finance the erection of a memorial in the United States.
These are S. 2882, and H.R. 5200--also known as Aviation Security Improvement Act of 1990 (see 4 Oct 1990; 24 Oct 1990; 16 Nov 1990).
A Remembrance Room is dedicated in Tundergarth parish, just outside Lockerbie, Scotland where the cockpit of the Clipper Maid of the Seas fell, a Remembrance Room is dedicated.
The Aircraft Accident Report is issued by the U.K. Department of Air Accidents Investigation Branch.
A letter is issued to the Syracuse University community by University Archivist Amy S. Doherty and Ronald R. Cavanaugh of the Office of Undergraduate Studies, the department that maintained the Division of International Programs Abroad (DIPA).
A letter is sent to the families of the 35 Syracuse University students killed on Pan Am Flight 103, inviting them to donate materials to the Pan Am Flight 103/Lockerbie Air Disaster Archives at Syracuse University.
The Fatal Accident Inquiry, comparable to a coroner’s inquest in the U.S., begins at Crichton Royal Hospital in Dumfries conducted by Sheriff Principal John Mowatt, the senior sheriff for southwestern Scotland.
H.R. 5200, also known as The Aviation Security Improvement Act of 1990, is passed by the House of Representatives (see 28 June 1990; 24 Oct 1990; 16 Nov 1990).
The Aviation Security Improvement Act of 1990 is unanimously passed by the United States Senate.
Both NBC and ABC News report that an undercover DEA drug investigation may have been used by terrorists to smuggle a bomb on board Pan Am Flight 103.
President George H.W. Bush signs the Aviation Security Improvement Act of 1990 into law (see 28 June 1990; 4 Oct 1990; 24 Oct 1990).
Syracuse University Chancellor Eggers presents the 35 Remembrance Scholars at the first annual convocation ceremony.
In October, 1990 both NBC and ABC News reported that an undercover DEA drug investigation may have been used by terrorists to smuggle a bomb on board Pan Am Flight 103.
The Pan Am Corporation and its subsidiaries file for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.
The fatal accident inquiry conducted by Sheriff Principal John Mowatt (see 1 Oct 1990), the senior sheriff for southwestern Scotland, is completed and he concludes that the primary cause of the 270 deaths was a "criminal act of murder".
A three-judge panel from the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules that the Warsaw Convention, which governs air carrier liability, precluded the recovery of punitive damages from Pan Am World Airways Inc. in wrongful death suits that involve international travel.
Acting Attorney General William Barr said: "Today we charge that two Libyan officials, acting as operatives of the Libyan Intelligence Service along with other co-conspirators, planted and detonated the bomb that destroyed Pan Am Flight 103...The defendants we indict today are Abdel Basset Ali Al-Megrahi and Lamen Khalifa Fhimah...".
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