So This Is Christmas

Merry Christmas is such an infectious feeling I like to feel that way all year around.

So if you are visiting just before Christmas, just after Christmas or even here on Christmas day I am sure you will find something of interest for you and in the spirit of Christmas.

It may be said that Christmas is no longer a celebration but this must be spoken by people that have never had trouble closing their eyes on Christmas Eve in an expectation of what maybe left for them on the carpet under the tree.

I continue to look forward to the surprise on my Grandchild's faces to this day at Christmas events.

Merry Christmas - Merry Christmas - Merry Christmas

Monday, April 14, 2014

Pan Am Flight 103 Air Crash Investigation Report

By Anita Ortega


The Pan Am Flight 103 crashed on its way to Detroit from Frankfurt via London and became a center for investigations for years that followed. The Pan Am flight 103 air crash investigation covered 20 countries and sort to establish what occurred over the small town of Lockerbie in Scotland that brought down the plane. By the time it was coming down, it had 259 people on board. The number of deaths hit 270 because 11 people died on the ground. Initial findings indicated that a bomb had been planted in the luggage section, most probably in Frankfurt.

The plane was traveling 31,000 feet when the bomb exploded. Investigations revealed that Libyan terrorists were responsible. The conclusions followed the gathering of thousands of pieces and information about the plane. It had to be reassembled in a warehouse to establish major facts. This was billed to be the most dangerous attacks in history and attracted a lot of attention.

The conclusion that Libyans were involved resulted from years of evidence collection. After three years, two Libyans, Khalifa Al-Amin and Baset Abdel were implicated with the terrorist act. The judges ruled that Khalifa did not commit the crime and was therefore set free. Abdel was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. The government was to take responsibility by paying 2.7 billion dollars.

Investigations involving accidents in UK are handled by Air Accident Investigation Branch. They took responsibility of this one too. The area covered by the debris extended around 2000 square kilometers where about 4million pieces were collected. They were recorded in computers for easy identification.

Investigations took a criminal angle when the bomb theory care to fore. There were traces of PETN and RDX, chemicals that cause Semtex explosions. The bomb was said to have been entered in Frankfurt. Investigators were drawn from the FBI, Scotland Yard and local police.

America had never witnessed such magnitude of murder of her citizens. 189 of the 270 people who died on board were Americans. The only other act that saw such a level of deaths was the 9/11 terrorist attack that happened years later. The court proceedings saw the presentation of 180,000 pieces of evidence, 3,500 of which were photos. 15,000 people assisted the prosecution with testimonies. A total of 20 countries were involved in the investigations. It was concluded that Libya should take responsibility by paying 2.7 billion dollars.

The investigations and trial broke the record for the most expensive exercise. A total of 60 million dollars was spent with 230 people presenting their evidence in person. Court transcripts topped 10,000 pages with the entire trial taking a record 89 days. There was a claim that the trials took a political angle which dimmed any hopes of finding the truth. Libya was claimed to be a scapegoat while the real perpetrators were Iranians with the aid of Palestinians.

Iran entered into the picture because 290 of its citizen civilians were killed in the Persian Gulf when America brought down its plane. It is also believed that Libya was coerced into taking responsibility for political reasons. Some powers sort to make political or ideological gains by implicating Libya. This means that the truth about the crush may never be known.




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