1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:03,480 Speaker 1: Hey, history fans, here's a rerun for today, brought to 2 00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:06,600 Speaker 1: you by Tracy V. Wilson. We hope it makes previous 3 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:09,320 Speaker 1: episodes for this date easier to find in the feed. 4 00:00:10,800 --> 00:00:13,280 Speaker 1: Welcome to this Day in History Class from how Stuff 5 00:00:13,280 --> 00:00:15,480 Speaker 1: Works dot com and from the desk of Stuff you 6 00:00:15,520 --> 00:00:17,959 Speaker 1: Missed in History Class. It's the show where we explore 7 00:00:17,960 --> 00:00:20,119 Speaker 1: the past one day at a time with a quick 8 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:27,360 Speaker 1: look at what happened today in history. Hello, and welcome 9 00:00:27,400 --> 00:00:30,479 Speaker 1: to the podcast. I'm Tracy V. Wilson, and it's December 10 00:00:30,560 --> 00:00:35,200 Speaker 1: twenty one. A bomb exploded aboard Panamp flight one oh 11 00:00:35,240 --> 00:00:39,360 Speaker 1: three on this day in over the town of Lockerby, Scotland. 12 00:00:40,280 --> 00:00:42,560 Speaker 1: This was a Boeing seven forty seven that had taken 13 00:00:42,560 --> 00:00:45,239 Speaker 1: off from London thirty eight minutes before, and it was 14 00:00:45,240 --> 00:00:49,040 Speaker 1: bound for New York. All two fifty nine people aboard 15 00:00:49,080 --> 00:00:52,000 Speaker 1: the aircraft were killed, as were eleven people on the 16 00:00:52,040 --> 00:00:55,279 Speaker 1: ground as the wreckage from the plane crashed into houses 17 00:00:55,320 --> 00:00:59,680 Speaker 1: and streets in Lockerbee. The victims aboard the aircraft included 18 00:00:59,680 --> 00:01:04,000 Speaker 1: thirty five students who were studying abroad through Syracuse University, 19 00:01:04,319 --> 00:01:09,199 Speaker 1: as well as people from numerous other nations. The following day, 20 00:01:09,480 --> 00:01:12,800 Speaker 1: authorities announced that it appeared that the explosion may have 21 00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:15,800 Speaker 1: been an act of sabotage, not some kind of an accident. 22 00:01:16,600 --> 00:01:19,399 Speaker 1: Authorities also released a warning that day, known as the 23 00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:22,880 Speaker 1: Helsinki Warning. This was an anonymous phone call to the 24 00:01:22,959 --> 00:01:26,160 Speaker 1: US embassy in Helsinki, Finland, and the phone call had 25 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:31,120 Speaker 1: said that a terrorist organization maybe using an unsuspecting passenger 26 00:01:31,200 --> 00:01:34,480 Speaker 1: to smuggle a bomb onto a pan Am flight. Although 27 00:01:34,520 --> 00:01:38,360 Speaker 1: there were uncanny similarities between this warning and the bombing 28 00:01:38,360 --> 00:01:40,920 Speaker 1: of flight one oh three, it was determined that they 29 00:01:40,920 --> 00:01:44,920 Speaker 1: were unrelated. Although people were outraged when they learned that 30 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:48,240 Speaker 1: this warning had existed and they had known nothing about it. 31 00:01:49,280 --> 00:01:51,440 Speaker 1: Soon it was announced that there had been a bomb 32 00:01:51,640 --> 00:01:54,920 Speaker 1: in the airplane's forward luggage compartment. The bomb was hidden 33 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:58,200 Speaker 1: in a tape recorder and placed in an uncompanied bag 34 00:01:58,200 --> 00:02:01,120 Speaker 1: in Malta that had been transferred to a pan In 35 00:02:01,200 --> 00:02:03,720 Speaker 1: flight to London after landing in Germany, and then from 36 00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:10,520 Speaker 1: there onto a flight bound for New York. Two suspects emerged, Abdelbaset, 37 00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:14,640 Speaker 1: Ali Mohammed al mcgrahi and al Amine Khalifa Fema, both 38 00:02:14,639 --> 00:02:17,960 Speaker 1: of them of Libya. They were indicted on November thirteenth 39 00:02:18,040 --> 00:02:22,840 Speaker 1: of They worked for Libyan Arab Airlines, and they were 40 00:02:22,840 --> 00:02:27,320 Speaker 1: also accused of being Libyan intelligence agents. At first, though, 41 00:02:27,400 --> 00:02:30,680 Speaker 1: Libya refused to extradite them to Scotland to stand trial, 42 00:02:30,960 --> 00:02:34,360 Speaker 1: and this led the United Nations to impose sanctions on Libya. 43 00:02:35,040 --> 00:02:38,239 Speaker 1: Libyan leader MoMA Ga Daffi also wanted the trial to 44 00:02:38,280 --> 00:02:41,240 Speaker 1: take place in a neutral country, so part of an 45 00:02:41,240 --> 00:02:45,000 Speaker 1: air base outside of Amsterdam was declared Scottish territory so 46 00:02:45,080 --> 00:02:48,400 Speaker 1: that the trial could be held under Scottish law. It 47 00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:51,280 Speaker 1: was only after this was agreed to that Libya finally 48 00:02:51,360 --> 00:02:56,040 Speaker 1: agreed on December sixteenth to turn the suspects over. This 49 00:02:56,080 --> 00:02:59,600 Speaker 1: was more than seven years after the indictment, and then 50 00:02:59,600 --> 00:03:01,919 Speaker 1: it was April of the following year by the time 51 00:03:01,960 --> 00:03:05,440 Speaker 1: the suspects were actually handed over to UN authorities to 52 00:03:05,480 --> 00:03:09,520 Speaker 1: stand trial. The trial began on May three, two thousand 53 00:03:09,720 --> 00:03:12,400 Speaker 1: and There were three judges, with the fourth as a reserve. 54 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:16,519 Speaker 1: After hearing eight months of testimony from two d thirty 55 00:03:16,600 --> 00:03:20,280 Speaker 1: two witnesses, they issued their verdict on January thirty one 56 00:03:20,440 --> 00:03:24,519 Speaker 1: of two thousand one. Al McGraw he was found guilty 57 00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:29,799 Speaker 1: and Fema was found not guilty. Al McGraw. He appealed, 58 00:03:29,840 --> 00:03:32,640 Speaker 1: but that appeal failed, and eight years later he received 59 00:03:32,639 --> 00:03:36,320 Speaker 1: a compassionate release when he was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer. 60 00:03:36,880 --> 00:03:40,080 Speaker 1: He died in twenty twelve, a little less than three 61 00:03:40,240 --> 00:03:44,800 Speaker 1: years after that release. In two thousand three, Libya took 62 00:03:44,880 --> 00:03:49,080 Speaker 1: formal responsibility for this bombing after years of insisting that 63 00:03:49,200 --> 00:03:53,480 Speaker 1: Libya as a nation was not involved. Although Gadaffi himself 64 00:03:53,600 --> 00:03:56,920 Speaker 1: did not take personal responsibility for it get off, he 65 00:03:57,040 --> 00:03:59,920 Speaker 1: did agree to a two point seven billion dollars set 66 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:02,080 Speaker 1: oment to be paid to the families of those who 67 00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:07,240 Speaker 1: were killed. Other suspects were announced to exist in and 68 00:04:07,280 --> 00:04:11,200 Speaker 1: There continue to be a lot of hypotheses about this bombing, 69 00:04:11,240 --> 00:04:13,880 Speaker 1: about who was involved, whether it was some kind of 70 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:17,880 Speaker 1: multinational conspiracy, but no one else has ever been convicted. 71 00:04:18,480 --> 00:04:22,680 Speaker 1: It is certain that there were other people involved. In 72 00:04:22,720 --> 00:04:26,440 Speaker 1: response to the bombing, there was increased airport security all 73 00:04:26,440 --> 00:04:29,279 Speaker 1: over the world. The f a A also find pan 74 00:04:29,360 --> 00:04:31,480 Speaker 1: Am due to security breaches that had happened on the 75 00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:34,640 Speaker 1: day of the bombing. Thanks to Eve's Jeff Cope for 76 00:04:34,640 --> 00:04:37,560 Speaker 1: her research work on Today's show into casey Pegram and 77 00:04:37,640 --> 00:04:40,240 Speaker 1: Chandler Maize for their audio work on this show. You 78 00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:43,360 Speaker 1: can subscribe to This Day in History Class on Apple podcasts, 79 00:04:43,360 --> 00:04:46,320 Speaker 1: Google podcasts, the I Heart Radio app, and wherever else 80 00:04:46,360 --> 00:04:49,240 Speaker 1: you get your podcasts. You can tune in tomorrow for 81 00:04:49,279 --> 00:04:51,799 Speaker 1: an infamous and wrongful conviction.