Lockerbie: The Story and the Lessons
Encyclopedia
Lockerbie: The Story and the Lessons is a book by aviation security expert Rodney Wallis on the Pan Am 103/Lockerbie bombing case, focusing upon the civil litigation trial brought by surviving family members against the now defunct Pan American World Airways
.
(IATA) brings together the facts surrounding the sabotage on 21 December 1988 of Pan Am Flight 103
, and details how the civil litigation developed so many of the facts surrounding the bombing for the first time. Wallis's book uncovers the fundamental weaknesses in Pan Am's communication and corporate security management policies which created an environment where good aviation security was impossible. The government's unusual role in protecting sensitive aviation security information that was introduced at trial is also described. The jury eventually found defendant Pan American Airways liable for "willful misconduct."
was held in 2000 at a specially convened Scottish Court in the Netherlands
. Two Libyans were accused of carrying out the Lockerbie bombing: one was convicted on 270 counts of murder (Abdelbaset al-Megrahi) and was sentenced to life imprisonment
; the other was found not guilty (Lamin Khalifah Fhimah
) and was released.
Pan American World Airways
Pan American World Airways, commonly known as Pan Am, was the principal and largest international air carrier in the United States from 1927 until its collapse on December 4, 1991...
.
Lockerbie civil case
The civil trial took place in 1992 in the Eastern District of New York, before United States District Court Judge Thomas C. Platt. In his book, Wallis, a former Director of Security for the International Air Transport AssociationInternational Air Transport Association
The International Air Transport Association is an international industry trade group of airlines headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where the International Civil Aviation Organization is also headquartered. The executive offices are at the Geneva Airport in SwitzerlandIATA's mission is to...
(IATA) brings together the facts surrounding the sabotage on 21 December 1988 of Pan Am Flight 103
Pan Am Flight 103
Pan Am Flight 103 was Pan American World Airways' third daily scheduled transatlantic flight from London Heathrow Airport to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport...
, and details how the civil litigation developed so many of the facts surrounding the bombing for the first time. Wallis's book uncovers the fundamental weaknesses in Pan Am's communication and corporate security management policies which created an environment where good aviation security was impossible. The government's unusual role in protecting sensitive aviation security information that was introduced at trial is also described. The jury eventually found defendant Pan American Airways liable for "willful misconduct."
Lockerbie criminal trial
The criminal trialPan Am Flight 103 bombing trial
The Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial began on 3 May 2000, 11 years, 4 months and 13 days after the destruction of Pan Am Flight 103 on 21 December 1988...
was held in 2000 at a specially convened Scottish Court in the Netherlands
Scottish Court in the Netherlands
The Scottish court in the Netherlands was the special High Court of Justiciary set up under Scots law in a former United States Air Force base called Camp Zeist in Utrecht, in the Netherlands, for the trial of two Libyans charged with 270 counts of murder in connection with the bombing of Pan Am...
. Two Libyans were accused of carrying out the Lockerbie bombing: one was convicted on 270 counts of murder (Abdelbaset al-Megrahi) and was sentenced to life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
; the other was found not guilty (Lamin Khalifah Fhimah
Lamin Khalifah Fhimah
Lamin Khalifa Fhimah was a station manager for Libyan Arab Airlines at Luqa Airport, Malta. On 31 January 2001, he was found not guilty and acquitted of 270 counts of murder in the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial by a panel of three Scottish judges sitting in a special court at Camp Zeist,...
) and was released.