Pan Am Flight 103 facts for kids
The remains of the front part of Clipper Maid of the Seas
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| Bombing summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | 21 December 1988 |
| Summary | Bombing |
| Place | Lockerbie, Scotland 55°06′56″N 003°21′31″W / 55.11556°N 3.35861°W |
| Passengers | 243 |
| Crew | 16 |
| Injuries (non-fatal) | 0 |
| Fatalities | 270 (all, including 11 on the ground) |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 747-100 |
| Aircraft name | Clipper Maid of the Seas |
| Airline/user | Pan American World Airways |
| Registration | N739PA |
| Flew from | Frankfurt am Main Airport |
| 1st stopover | London Heathrow Airport |
| 2nd stopover | John F. Kennedy International Airport |
| Flying to | Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport |
Pan Am Flight 103 was a passenger plane that belonged to Pan American World Airways. It was flying from London to New York City across the Atlantic Ocean. On 21 December 1988, a bomb destroyed the plane. Everyone on board died. The plane exploded over Lockerbie, a town in southern Scotland. Eleven more people on the ground were killed when parts of the plane fell onto their homes. This sad event is also known as the Lockerbie bombing.
The plane was a Boeing 747–121 called “Clipper Maid of the Seas”. The explosion killed all 243 passengers and 16 crew members. In Lockerbie, 11 more people died when large parts of the plane crashed into houses. In total, 270 people lost their lives. After many years of investigation, officials blamed the attack on people working for Libya's government. A Libyan man named Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was found responsible for the attack. He was later released from prison because he was very sick with cancer. Megrahi died almost three years later. The leader of Libya at the time, Muammar Gaddafi, was also believed to have ordered the attack.
Contents
The Plane Involved
The plane that crashed was a Boeing 747–121. Its registration number was N739PA. It was named Clipper Maid of the Seas and was 18 years old.
The Flight Path
Flight 103 actually started in Frankfurt Airport in Germany. A different plane, a Boeing 727, flew the first part of the journey. When the flight arrived at London Heathrow Airport, passengers changed to the Boeing 747. The plane left the terminal at 6:04 PM and took off from runway 27R at 6:25 PM. It was headed for John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, and then planned to continue to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport.
The Crash Event
At 7:02:44 PM, Flight 103 suddenly disappeared from air traffic control screens. Just six seconds later, at 7:02:50 PM, the plane appeared as five separate signals instead of one. A pilot from British Airways then reported seeing a huge fire on the ground. The explosion on the plane created a 50-centimeter (20-inch) hole on the left side of its body. As the plane fell, it broke into smaller pieces. The part of the plane with the wings landed first. It contained 200,000 pounds (91,000 kg) of jet fuel, which caught fire. The huge fireball destroyed several houses and created a large crater in the center of Lockerbie. This is how 11 people on the ground were killed.
The Victims
All 259 passengers and crew members on the plane died in the crash. Also, 11 people on the ground in Lockerbie were killed. Of the 259 people on the plane, 190 were Americans and 43 were British. Many other countries were also represented, with four or fewer passengers from each. The crew of Flight 103 included Captain Jim MacQuarrie (55), First Officer Ray Wagner (52), and Flight Engineer Jerry Don Avritt (46). The cabin crew members came from many different countries, including Czechoslovakia, the Dominican Republic, France, Norway, the Philippines, Spain, Sweden, West Germany, and the United States.
| Nationality | Passengers | Crew | On ground | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Argentina |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
 Australia |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 Belgium |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 Bolivia |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 Brazil |
6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
 Canada |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
 Croatia |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 Denmark |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 France |
2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
 Germany |
3 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
 Hong Kong |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
 Hungary |
4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
 Indonesia |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 India |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
 Ireland |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
 Israel |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 Italy |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
 Jamaica |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 Japan |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 South Korea |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
 Mexico |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 Netherlands |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 Philippines |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 South Africa |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 Spain |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 Sweden |
2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
 Switzerland |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 Taiwan |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
 Trinidad and Tobago |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 United Kingdom |
31 | 1 | 11 | 43 |
 United States |
178 | 10 | 0 | 188 |
| Total | 243 | 16 | 11 | 270 |
Who Was Blamed?
Some groups claimed responsibility for the bombing. Members of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution said they destroyed the plane. They claimed it was in response to Iran Air Flight 655 being shot down by U.S. forces a few months earlier.
In 2003, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi admitted that Libya was responsible for the Lockerbie bombing. He paid money to the families of the victims. However, he always said that he personally did not give the order for the attack.
Images for kids
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N739PA as Clipper Morning Light at San Francisco International Airport in 1978
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N739PA as Clipper Maid of the Seas at Los Angeles International Airport in 1987. The explosion happened almost directly under the second A in "Pan Am" on this side of the plane, in the front cargo area.
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Dryfesdale Cemetery memorial stone dedicated to Bernt Carlsson
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CIA analysis of different groups claiming responsibility for the bombing
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A cassette player similar to the one used in the disaster
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The Lockerbie Cairn memorial in Arlington National Cemetery, U.S.
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Inscription on the memorial at Arlington National Cemetery
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Syracuse University's memorial in Syracuse, New York
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See Also
In Spanish: Vuelo 103 de Pan Am para niños
