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Lockerbie bombing

Shortly after 19:00 GMT on 21 December 1988, the Boeing 747 Clipper Maid of the Seas was destroyed by a bomb while flying over the Scottish town of Lockerbie.

Place
Lockerbie, Scotland, United Kingdom
Date
21 Dec 1988
Status
SolvedAuthorities consider the case resolved, usually after identifying or convicting the responsible person.
Sources
2 cited sources

Updated 23 Aug 2026

Overview

Case overview

Shortly after 19:00 GMT on 21 December 1988, the Boeing 747 Clipper Maid of the Seas was destroyed by a bomb while flying over the Scottish town of Lockerbie. In 1991, after a three-year joint investigation between Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary, supported by Strathclyde Police, the London Metropolitan Police, and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), arrest warrants were issued for two Libyan Mukhabarat el-Jamahiriya officers. [1]

In 1999, after repeated negotiations and United Nations sanctions, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi allowed extradition of the two men for trial at Camp Zeist, the Netherlands. In 2001, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was found guilty of 270 counts of murder in connection with the bombing, and was sentenced to life imprisonment. Megrahi died in 2012 and remains the only person convicted of the bombing. [2]

Pan Am Flight 103, 21 December 1988. Lockerbie bombing Boeing 747–121, Clipper Maid of the Seas, Pan American World Airways, N739PA
Pan Am Flight 103, 21 December 1988. Lockerbie bombing Boeing 747–121, Clipper Maid of the Seas, Pan American World Airways, N739PAAir Accident Investigation Branch · OGL 2 · View original ↗
Detailed chronology

Key events

8 sourced milestones

Major events in the case, shown in chronological order.

  1. The central incident occurs

    Pan Am 103 was the second Boeing 747 destroyed by a mid-air bombing, after Air India 182 in June 1985; while the Pan Am flight was a 747-100, the Air India flight was a 747-200.

    Source: Wikipedia ↗

  2. A central event is documented

    Two online petitions were started: one calling for a UK public inquiry into the Lockerbie bombing; the other a UN inquiry into the murder of UN Commissioner for Namibia, Bernt Carlsson, in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing.

    Source: Wikipedia ↗

  3. The investigation develops

    UN sanctions against Libya and protracted negotiations with Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi secured the handover of the accused on 5 April 1999 to Scottish police at Camp Zeist, the Netherlands, which was selected as a neutral venue for their trial.

    Source: Wikipedia ↗

  4. A central event is documented

    An op-ed article by Pamela Dix, subtitled "The families of those killed in the bombing have not given up hope of an inquiry to help us learn the lessons of this tragedy", was published in The Guardian on 26 October 2009.

    Source: Wikipedia ↗

  5. A central event is documented

    On 1 November 2009, it was reported that Gordon Brown had ruled out a public inquiry into Lockerbie, saying in response to Dr Swire's letter: "I understand your desire to understand the events surrounding the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 but I do not think it would be appropriate for the UK government to open an inquiry of this sort."

    Source: Wikipedia ↗

  6. A central event is documented

    In 2014, an Iranian ex-spy asserted that Iran ordered the attack. This milestone is documented in the cited case overview and supporting public record.

    Source: Wikipedia ↗

  7. Prosecutors file charges

    On 21 December 2020, the 32nd anniversary of the disaster, the United States attorney general announced that Abu Agela Mas'ud Kheir Al-Marimi, a Libyan national in custody in Libya, had been charged with terrorism-related crimes in connection with the bombing, accusing him of involvement in constructing the bomb.

    Source: Wikipedia ↗

  8. Abdelbaset al-Megrahi is convicted

    A Scottish court sitting in the Netherlands convicted Abdelbaset al-Megrahi of 270 counts of murder and imposed a life sentence; he remains the only person convicted for the bombing.

    Source: Wikipedia ↗
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