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 tragedy took place in 1988, four days before Christmas. A Pan Am flight took off from Heathrow that day and soon after, disintegrated in mid-air. After it was concluded that the cause of the incident was a bomb, it became known as the Lockerbie bombing, after the Scottish town where the plane crashed.
Because the aircraft disintegrated, everyone on board was killed. The burning wreckage fell down to the ground and killed 11 Lockerbie residents as well. People from 19 different nationalities died in the disaster, including 189 US and 43 UK nationals.
It took three years of hard work for the investigators to pinpoint their suspects, two men from Libya. Another eight years of negotiations followed before the Libyan government handed the men over so that they could stand trial. Only one of the men was found guilty and he was sentenced to life in prison. He appealed his sentence twice, received a compassionate release in 2009 and maintained until his death of cancer that he had been innocent. The Libyan government, however, paid compensation to the families of those who died in the bombing.
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.
Another theory which was formed not long after the incident involved South Africa's apartheid government. South Africa was on the verge of finally handing over Namibia to UN control. The UN commissioner who was to take over Namibian rule until the country's independence was killed in the bombing, while a delegation that included the South African Minister of Foreign Affairs was supposed to be on the flight but escaped death when they took another flight instead.
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.
The case hasn't been reopened yet. This doesn't mean it's over, however. Some legal proceedings are still ongoing and therefore the wreckage is still held as evidence. In other words, another Pan Am flight 103 air crash investigation is not entirely impossible in future.
The tragedy took place in 1988, four days before Christmas. A Pan Am flight took off from Heathrow that day and soon after, disintegrated in mid-air. After it was concluded that the cause of the incident was a bomb, it became known as the Lockerbie bombing, after the Scottish town where the plane crashed.
Because the aircraft disintegrated, everyone on board was killed. The burning wreckage fell down to the ground and killed 11 Lockerbie residents as well. People from 19 different nationalities died in the disaster, including 189 US and 43 UK nationals.
It took three years of hard work for the investigators to pinpoint their suspects, two men from Libya. Another eight years of negotiations followed before the Libyan government handed the men over so that they could stand trial. Only one of the men was found guilty and he was sentenced to life in prison. He appealed his sentence twice, received a compassionate release in 2009 and maintained until his death of cancer that he had been innocent. The Libyan government, however, paid compensation to the families of those who died in the bombing.
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.
Another theory which was formed not long after the incident involved South Africa's apartheid government. South Africa was on the verge of finally handing over Namibia to UN control. The UN commissioner who was to take over Namibian rule until the country's independence was killed in the bombing, while a delegation that included the South African Minister of Foreign Affairs was supposed to be on the flight but escaped death when they took another flight instead.
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.
The case hasn't been reopened yet. This doesn't mean it's over, however. Some legal proceedings are still ongoing and therefore the wreckage is still held as evidence. In other words, another Pan Am flight 103 air crash investigation is not entirely impossible in future.
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