19-05-2025
The true story behind BBC Lockerbie drama The Bombing of Pan Am 103
BBC's The Bombing of Pan Am 103 dramatises the events of the Lockerbie bombing in 1988, and the subsequent investigation that took place to find who was responsible.
Starring Connor Swindells, Eddie Marsan and Patrick J Adams amongst its stellar ensemble cast, the six-part series explores the UK's deadliest terrorist attack in the country's history. The investigation is still ongoing, with new details even emerging in recent months.
Here is everything that you need to know about the real life event that inspired the TV series.
On 21 December, 1988 Pan Am flight 103 exploded over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in a terrorist attack that killed a total of 270 people — all 243 passengers and 16 crew onboard, as well as 11 residents in the town.
Scotland's Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary led the investigation to determine what happened to bring the plane down, given it wasn't initially known if it was a terrorist attack or not, and after the cause was determined who committed the attack. They were aided by FBI special agent Richard Marquise, who led the agency's investigation into the event.
Together the forces on both sides of the Atlantic pieced together what happened, that a bomb was hidden in a piece of luggage that was loaded onto the Pan Am plane in Frankfurt, Germany. The investigation found that the explosive originated in Malta, which led police to believe that the attack was carried out by Libyan forces.
During the investigation it was revealed that authorities had been warned about a possible terrorist attack 16 days prior to the Lockerbie bombing. An anonymous call to the US Embassy in Helsinki, Finland, warned that a Pan Am flight from Frankfurt to the United States would be blown up within the next two weeks, the warning was taken seriously and a bulletin issued to all embassy staff, but not the public.
Following three years of investigation, the joint forces issued arrest warrants for two Libyan nationals in 1991, and after extensive negotiations, and United Nations sanctions, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi handed the men over for trial in 1999.
In 1991, Abdelbasset al-Megrahi, a Libyan intelligence officer, and Lamin Khalifah Fhimah, a station manager for Libyan Arab Airlines at Luqa Airport, Malta, were accused of being involved in the Lockerbie bombing. Authorities accused the two men of placing the bomb on an Air Malta flight before it was transferred to a plane at Frankfurt airport.
Their trial began in 1999, and took place a neutral location at Camp Zeist in the Netherlands with three Scottish judges presiding over the case. Both al-Megrahi and Fhimah chose not to give evidence during the trial.
In 2001 al-Megrahi was convicted for having a key role in the bombing of Pan Am 103, and he was sentenced to life imprisonment. His co-accused Fhimah was acquitted due to a lack of evidence.
Al-Megrahi tried to appeal his conviction but was unsuccessful, however he was released from prison in 2009 on compassionate grounds after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. He died aged 60 in Tripoli, Libya, in 2012.
In 2020, American and Scottish police forces issued a warrant for the arrest of Abu Agila Mas'id Kheir Al-Marimi, a former Libyan intelligence operative he was indicted for his alleged role in building the bomb that was used in the terrorist attack. Al-Marimi is currently in US custody and is facing charges in the United States.
In March 2025, it was reported that newly released documents allegedly provide written proof that Gaddafi's Jamahiriya Security Organisation (JSO) was behind the Lockerbie bombing. If verified, the documents will be used in Al-Marimi's trial.
Per the BBC, former FBI special agent said in a statement: "The FBI and the US Department of Justice have been aware of this and I know they're working closely with their colleagues at the Crown Office and Police Scotland to see if this is something that can be used in court.
"I'm very hopeful that it can be used and will lead to at least one more conviction. We'll have to see what goes beyond that, depending on what they can find."
On 14 March, a US judge delayed Al-Marimi's trial at the request of the prosecution and defence, a new trial date has not yet been set.
The Bombing of Pan Am 103 airs on BBC One at 9pm on Sunday and Monday nights, with episodes landing on BBC iPlayer.
