Nearly 35 Years After the Lockerbie Bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, a Suspect Was Arrested

There is an entire Wikipedia page devoted to commercial aircraft incidents and accidents. The first one on the list dates back to July 21, 1919, when a Goodyear dirigible caught fire and crashed into the Illinois Trust and Savings Building in Chicago.

Thirteen people died that day and 27 were injured on the ground. As the years drag on, aircrafts grow more complicated while the passenger death tolls increase. Once we reach the 1970s, numbers in the hundreds start showing up.

Most people would understandably say that 9/11 was the worst aircraft-related incident in the history of the United States, though it wasn't the first act of terror that required the use of an airplane.

In December 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 exploded while flying over the Scottish town of Lockerbie. The Boeing 747 was carrying 259 people and when it crashed, 11 more died. Who was responsible for the Lockerbie bombing? Here's what we know.

The Guardian reported that in 2001, Abdelbasset al-Megrahi was found guilty of orchestrating the Lockerbie bombing and was sentenced to life in prison by a Scottish court in the Netherlands. He had to serve at least 27 years of that sentence before being eligible for parole. In August 2009, he was released on compassionate grounds based on a prostate cancer diagnosis and was given less than three months to live, per The New York Times.

Megrahi died in May 2012, reported the outlet, at the age of 60.

Megrahi was born in Tripoli, Libya in 1952. Much of his early life remains a mystery. We do know that he ended up working as a senior intelligence officer and director of the Center for Strategic Studies in Tripoli. His cousin was also part of Colonel Qaddafi’s inner circle.

Eventually, Megrahi became chief of security for Libyan Arab Airlines, which American intelligence officials believed was a cover. When tensions arose between the U.S. and Libya in the 1980s, Megrahi was recruited for acts of terrorism.

In December 2022, the Department of Justice released a statement announcing that another suspect had been charged in connection to the Lockerbie bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi (Mas’ud), age 71 at the time, was charged two years prior with destruction of aircraft resulting in death and destruction of a vehicle used in foreign commerce by means of an explosive resulting in death.

A federal grand jury formally indicted Mas'ud in November 2022.

According to the BBC, Mas'ud is accused of making the device responsible for the airplane's destruction. He has been in custody since 2012 when Mas'ud was arrested following the overthrow of Colonel Gaddafi's government. It was at that time that he confessed to making the Lockerbie bomb.

The complaint alleges that from 1973 to 2011, Mas'ud was employed by the External Security Organization (ESO), a Libyan intelligence agency that carries out acts of terrorism against other nations.

Mas'ud was allegedly ordered by a member of EOS to fly to Malta with a prepared suitcase. He was met by two other men at the airport who instructed Mas'ud to set the timer to 11 hours later, which was Dec. 21, 1988.

If convicted, Mas'ud faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. His trial is set to take place some time in 2025.