A section of Pan Am flight 103 which exploded over Lockerbie almost 36 years ago is being transported to the US for the trial of a man accused of making the bomb.
The transfer of the fuselage forms part of an evidence-sharing agreement between Scottish law enforcement authorities and American counterparts in the case against Abu Agila Mas’ud.
The Libyan has been accused of causing the destruction of an aircraft resulting in death and is scheduled to stand trial in Washington DC next May.
An engineer from an air crash investigation unit peering out of the reconstructed remains of the plane in 1998. Pic: Reuters
Relatives of the 270 victims killed in the attack on 21 December 1988 have been kept informed.
Laura Buchan is leading the team of prosecutors working on the case at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS).
Abu Agila Mas’ud. Pic: Alexandria Sheriff’s Office/Reuters
She said: “Since Mas’ud was taken into custody by the US in 2022, Scottish prosecutors and police have been engaged in a formal evidence-sharing process with the US Department of Justice.
“The transfer of physical items of evidence from Scotland into US custody is beginning.
“The transfer includes parts of the fuselage of Pan Am 103 which are a production in the criminal investigation.
“We understand that the fuselage will hold significance for many of the families of those who lost their lives and they have been informed of the transfer plans.”
The bombing took place as the plane made its way from London to New York. Pic: Reuters
When the Boeing 747 exploded over the Dumfries and Galloway town of Lockerbie, it killed all 259 passengers and crew on board and 11 people on the ground.
The bombing – which took place as the plane made its way from London to New York – remains the UK’s worst terrorist attack.
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Abdelbaset al Megrahi. Pic: Crown Office
Following a trial at Camp Zeist in the Netherlands, Libyan intelligence officer Abdelbaset al Megrahi was found guilty of mass murder in 2001 and was jailed for life.
In 2008 he was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer and was freed the following year on compassionate grounds by the Scottish government.
Megrahi arriving at Glasgow Airport in 2009 after being released from Greenock Prison on compassionate grounds. Pic: PA
Megrahi leaving Glasgow for Tripoli in 2009. Pic: PA
Megrahi returned to Tripoli to cheering crowds and continued to protest his innocence until his death in May 2012.
It has always been the Crown’s contention that Megrahi acted with others in the commission of his crime.
Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC said: “The trial court held that this act of state-sponsored terrorism was orchestrated by the Libyan government and that Megrahi was involved with others.
“That verdict has been subject of intense scrutiny and has been upheld twice in the appeal court.
“The transfer of evidence for the trial in the US is a strong expression of the commitment that Scottish prosecutors and officers of Police Scotland have to bringing all those responsible for this terrible act to justice.”
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