Days That Shook the World (2003) s01e10 Episode Script

1
NARRATOR: Civilian airlines have emerged
as one of the terrorist's
deadliest weapons.
Terrorism made a violent entry
into the modern age
with the first ever multiple hijacking
at Dawson's Field in Jordan.
Eighteen years later,
It reached new depths of tragedy
with the explosion of
Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie.
This is a dramatisation of events
as they happened on two days
that shook the world.
It's September 11th, 1970
In England,
the entertainment world is rocked
as the Beatles officially
announce their decision to split up.
US air strikes continue on Cambodia.
In America, the Boeing 747 makes its
maiden voyage from New York to London.
And in Jordan,
it's day six in a hostage situation
which has seized the world's attention.
Dawson's Field,
a disused British air base in
the Jordanian desert is the setting
for one of the most audacious
air terrorist attacks in history.
In the first-ever multiple hijacking,
three planes from America,
Switzerland and Britain
have been forced to land
on the desert airstrip.
The Popular Front for the Liberation
of Palestine, or PFLP,
is holding world governments to ransom.
265 hostages are on board.
The passengers from around the world
have now been held captive inside
the three planes for up to a week.
The Popular Front have renamed
Dawson's Field "Revolution Airstrip”".
There's just 36 hours until
the end of the terrorists' deadline.
Unless Arab prisoners are released
from European and Israeli jails,
they're going to blow up the aircraft
with the passengers on board.
(SPEAKING IN ARABIC)
Twenty-four-year-old Bassam Abu Sharif
is coordinating the operation.
He helped set up the Popular Front
for the Liberation of Palestine
three years ago and is now the
spokesman for the extremist group.
Bassam was one of the first
to greet the kidnapped passengers
on their arrival in Jordan.
BASSAM: I went on board to tuck them in
and help keep them calm.
Don't worry, it's only a hijack.
"Nobody will be hurt," I said,
in my best bedside manner,
while my PFLP colleagues went around
wiring detonators to explosives
placed under their seats.
NARRATOR:
Fluent in both French and English,
Bassam is central to negotiations.
He is issuing the demands
of the terrorists
to their international targets.
BASSAM: By now,
we had the world by the throat.
We felt invincible, unstoppable.
We could do just about
anything we liked.
We had taken power.
The PFLP warns that any stupid
intervention to free the hostages
will only endanger their lives.
NARRATOR: Five countries are being
blackmailed by Bassam's group.
America, Israel, West Germany,
Switzerland and Great Britain
are all members of what's been dubbed
"The Crisis Cartel"
But the key to the hostages' fate
lies 2,500 miles away.
One of the Popular Front's
most notorious members
didn't make it to Dawson's Field.
Twenty-six-year-old Leila Khaled
was arrested on day one of the mission,
when her hijack attempt
went disastrously wrong.
She led the most dangerous assignment,
to seize an Israeli El Al flight
with armed guards on board.
Her accomplice was killed
in an aerial gun battle.
Leila was captured and the plane made an
emergency landing at Heathrow Airport.
She now finds herself locked
in a British prison cell,
powerless over events.
Leila Khaled and Abu Sharif
are senior members
of one of Palestine's
most extreme militia units,
known collectively as the fedayeen,
or "men of sacrifice"
Traditionally, the Popular Front have
engaged in guerrilla warfare
against Israel and its allies
in their fight to reclaim
what they believe is their homeland.
But, in 1968, they turned to air piracy
in a bid to achieve
their political objective.
CAPTAIN: This is the captain speaking.
These guys are serious.
They got guns, they got grenades
and the whole works.
If there is any trickery,
they are going to blow up the aeroplane.
NARRATOR: Already on this mission,
they have destroyed
a 747 aircraft in Cairo,
having given the passengers
just three minutes to evacuate.
Leila Khaled's international profile
soared last year
when she carried out one of the group's
highest-profile hijackings.
She will stop at nothing
to pursue her beliefs.
For this latest mission,
she has undergone extensive facial
surgery without anaesthetic,
simply to avoid detection.
Hailed the heroine of the Palestinians,
Leila Khaled's release has become
central to the PFLP's demands.
Following her arrest,
the PFLP terrorists
carried out the last of the hijackings.
To negotiate Khaled's release,
they needed British hostages.
Three Palestinian sympathisers
hijacked a BOAC VC10 en route
from Bahrain to London
with 52 British citizens on board.
On arrival at Revolution Airstrip,
the guerrillas renamed the plane Leila.
The British government now has as much
at stake in the unfolding hostage crisis
as anyone.
On board the British VC10,
the heat inside the cabin is
120 degrees Fahrenheit
The passengers, some on their holidays,
others on business, many with children
returning to boarding schools,
have now been held captive
for over 48 hours.
They have been surviving
on Red Cross food and med/cal parcels.
One of the British passengers,
Major Norman Fawkes-Potts,
is & descendant of Guy Fawkes.
He's now on the receiving end
of a gunpowder plot
All the passengers' passports
were seized on arrival
and stamped with
Revolution Airstrip visas.
They've been told their release
depends upon the UK government
freeing Leila Khaled.
At the British Embassy in Jordan,
the man charged with negotiating
the release of the hostages
is meeting with the British Ambassador.
I've been to see Bassam Abu Sharif.
NARRATOR: This is Michael Adams"
first diplomatic assignment.
He normally works in the Middle East
as a journalist,
but now he's Britain's
chief negotiator in the crisis.
ADAMS: An odd venture, this, and
I don't have high hopes of its outcome.
But it seems worth trying.
Neither trusts the other.
I hope they will trust me.
And that is the slender basis
for my decision to come and try my luck.
It's a step in the right direction.
NARRATOR: 17 London,
Prime Minister Edward Heath
is under pressure
and facing a tough choice.
If he gives in to terrorist demands,
it could prompt more hijackings.
But he can't afford to risk the lives
of the hostages.
He's relying on Michael Adams
to find a solution.
PFLP officer Bassam Abu Sharif
has accepted Adams
as one of their preferred negotiators.
But international politics
are tying British hands.
The countries targeted by the guerrillas
have committed to negotiating together.
But the Crisis Cartel is split
The Europeans will consider a deal,
but Israel refuses to give in
to any terrorist demands.
MAN ON RADIO:
This is the BBC World Service.
The Middle East was alive today
with rumours,
discounted by the US Embassy in Beirut,
that the US Sixth Fleet was steaming
eastward through the Mediterranean
to back up an operation to snatch the
hostages out of the guerrillas' hands.
NARRATOR: Suddenly,
Bassam and his colleagues
hear the BBC World Service reporting
that America and Israel are planning
to storm the airfield.
Military forces are being mobilised
in the area.
The Jordanian army
surrounding the airstrip
is also primed and ready to attack.
(SPEAKING IN ARABIC)
(SPEAKING IN ARABIC)
BASSAM: The fighters felt the tension
but waited for the commander's orders.
They came out like bullets
coming out of a machine gun.
"Be ready. You're on full alert"
(SPEAKING IN ARABIC)
NARRATOR: The PFLP terrorists
know that their best defence
lies in the lives of the hostages.
Some of the hostages have
more to fear than others.
Earlier, Bassam made a crucial discovery
following a blockage
in one of the toilets.
Bassam!
BASSAM: The man came back clutching
seven sodden passports.
They smelled terrible.
They were clearly all Israeli.
So all the passengers
with Israeli nationality
had stuffed their passports
down the pan. Well, well.
In London, Leila Khaled is visited
by a senior police officer.
Open it.
NARRATOR: Chief Superintendent Frew
has been told about the standoff
at Dawson's Field.
Ms Khaled, would the Popular Front
explode the planes
with the passengers still on board?
Yes.
- Have you no humanity?
- Humanity? How dare you ask me
NARRATOR: Leila shares
her colleagues” fanaticism.
Wedded to the Palestinian cause
all her life,
her ring is made from a bullet
She became politicised at an early age,
when her family fled from their home
in Palestine during Israeli occupation.
Brought up in a refugee camp in Lebanon,
she committed to armed struggle at 15.
LEILA: I truly believe I have to do it
even if I have to lose my life for it
or to be imprisoned.
Because there ls no big difference
between my life without dignity
and humanity and death.
Death, while struggling,
is a step forward for my people.
NARRATOR: On board the British plane,
the commander's frustration
and fear of attack
is making their next move unpredictable.
One of the more extreme commandos,
who the passengers have nicknamed
"Bombshell Bessie", tells them
We don't want to kill you,
but if we have to, we shall
At the British Embassy in Amman,
there is a glimmer of hope.
They are informing London that
the guerrillas are ready to do a deal
with the British Government.
If Britain breaks from
the Crisis Cartel,
and agrees to release Leila Khaled,
all the British passengers
will be set free.
It is an agonising dilemma
for the government.
Saving the British captives could
leave the other hostages more exposed.
It would also anger America and Israel
The British government wants
to buy more time
and promises to give an answer tomorrow.
But time is running out.
Leila Khaled spends her sixth night
in custody.
Her fate, and that
of the British hostages,
now rests with the negotiators.
(SPEAKING IN ARABIC)
(SPEAKING IN ARABIC)
The PFLP's deadline
is now 27 hours away.
With their demands still not met,
Bassam and his colleagues are on alert
for an overnight attack
and planning their next move.
It's the start of what is to be
the final day on Revolution Airstrip.
Bassam is heading back to Amman to talk
with his leadership about today's plans.
There's just 22 hours left
until the end of their deadline
and they're determined to keep control
BASSAM: We knew the situation
had become very serious.
The countdown had started.
NARRATOR: On board the BOAC VC10,
the hostages have eaten
a breakfast of leftovers.
Yesterday's Red Gross supplies were
turned back by the PFLP commandos.
There is increased tension today.
The hostages are frightened and tired.
Leila Khaled is enjoying her first wash
since she was taken
into custody six days ago.
There is still no word from the
British Government about her release.
Frustrated with the standoff,
Michael Adams takes matters
into his own hands.
(SPEAKING IN ARABIC)
(KNOCK ON DOOR)
Michael Adams to see Bassam.
- Mr Adams.
- Bassam.
- How are you?
- I am well, thank you.
So what I have done is
I have drafted a communiqué
NARRATOR: He asks Bassam to sign up
to a Joint commitment
- Yes, okay, I will read it.
- Thank you.
But you are aware that we don't have
any guarantees to tell you what
NARRATOR: If the PFLP
agree to free the hostages,
he'll do everything he can to secure
the release of Leila Khaled.
Bassam agrees but insists on
an official announcement
from the British Government
backing the deal
Both men have to trust the other
to deliver on their promises.
The lives of the hostages are at stake.
At the Intercontinental Hotel in Amman,
there are over 200 hostages
released earlier in the hijack crisis.
Bassam persuaded
his more hard-line colleagues
to free mostly women and children.
Many of them still have family
held captive on board.
MAN: Have you heard any news at all
of your husband yet?
Well, just through the Red Cross,
that things seem to be okay.
Not to worry,
but, of course, we worry anyway.
How how are you?
Did you get any sleep last night?
No, I haven't slept since I'm here.
NARRATOR: At Dawson's Field,
the rest of the women and children
are being separated from the men.
Without warning, the guerrillas have
announced their release.
Their ordeal over, they're taken
to the Intercontinental Hotel
MAN: As the passengers left
the camouflage trucks
of the Royal Jordanian Army,
they pushed their way
through the barrage of soldiers
and press and friends into the hotel
The babies they carried,
some only two to three months old
slept on the shoulders of their mothers.
MAN 2: Now the children are coming
through, the British children.
There must be 300 or 400 people
waiting to receive them in the hotel
All the children look tired,
but they look happy.
Smile! Smile for the people!
NARRATOR: After a week on board
some think they understand
their captors' mentality.
They have treated us very well
I must add we've had no ill treatment
and they've been really nice to us.
But they're desperate men,
they feel they've been done a wrong,
and, to get their ends,
they will do what they say.
We've heard the BBC World Service News,
and they seem to think
that they're kidding and they're not.
We've seen the stuff
they put on the plane.
- What is that?
- It's loaded with dynamite.
NARRATOR: But militants on the ground
are angry at their
leadership's concessions.
They have decided to handle things
their own way.
Initially, there had been
over 400 hostages.
Now there are only 141 left
They know they have been
kept for a reason.
The hostages saved until last,
mainly diplomats, Israeli
and British nationals and air crew,
are all rounded up and
crammed into the guerrillas' vehicles.
They are told nothing
about what will happen to them.
The Palestinian terrorists are about
to spark shockwaves around the world.
The British BOAC
Is the first plane to go up.
Next, the TWA
The guerrillas have to shoot into
the fuselage of the SwissAir aircraft
to set it off.
For 20 minutes, explosions rock
the desert stillness.
Millions of pounds' worth of planes
are destroyed.
Emerging from the smoke,
the guerrillas' convoy starts to move.
They held the hostages' buses
long enough to see the planes go up.
The smoke can be seen 45 miles away
at the Intercontinental Hotel
There are emotional scenes
as the buses arrive.
Many had feared they would never see
their loved ones again.
MAN: Could you take a minute to tell us
how was it out there?
Well, it was rough, it was rough.
That's about all I can say.
Right now, I'm a little too shaken
to say anything else.
NARRATOR: But amid the celebrations,
it becomes clear
that the crisis is far from over.
Fifty six of the hostages are missing.
In the confusion,
they've been smuggled out
to four secret locations around Amman.
Believing they were on their way home,
the 56, including Major Potts
and seven other British,
now find themselves in the midst
of a war-torn city.
The Palestinian guerrillas
and Jordanian Army
have been battling for control
of Amman all year.
The Jordanians, angered
by the international scandal
brought to their country,
have intensified the fighting since
the start of the hostage crisis.
John Phillips.
NARRATOR: At the British Embassy,
news comes through
of events at Dawson's Field.
What about the hostages?
I see.
Well, thank you for letting me know.
Thank you very much. Goodbye.
- They've blown up the three planes.
- oh, my God!
But they've removed the hostages.
NARRATOR: It's not what Adams
had been expecting.
Bassam's forces have raised
the stakes yet again.
- And are the British amongst those?
- There are some British.
NARRATOR: The demands stay the same.
There's just 74 hours
until the end of the deadline.
Adams believes
that this is a final warning.
He fears for the safely
of the remaining hostages.
They start a frantic telex conference
with the UK,
pressing for the release
of Leila Khaled.
But the British Government
is still reluctant
They warn the embassy.
MAN: You should know
that Leila will not,
repeat, not now be moved today
from the police station.
NARRATOR:
The response from Amman is emphatic.
MAN 2: If we do not, within a few hours,
at least give an assurance
that we are prepared
to release Leila Khaled,
something very serious shall happen.
These people are quite capable of
killing hostages.
NARRATOR: The British Government
hold an emergency meeting.
Despite US and Israeli anger,
and his own grave concerns,
Prime Minister Heath decides
they have no choice.
In an extraordinary move,
he capitulates.
Britain agrees to issue a public
statement about Khaled's release.
(RADIO IN ARABIC)
The BBC World Service later reports
the crucial statement in Arabic.
(TRANSLATED) To avoid any possible
misunderstanding
or possible loss of life,
the government is prepared to return
Leila Khaled to an Arab country
as part of a satisfactory settlement
NARRATOR: Bassam's group
have played hardball
with a Western government and worn.
(SPEAKING IN ARABIC)
Leila Khaled's liberation
is the first and last time
Britain will free a terrorist
in this way.
A day after
the destruction of the planes,
Bassam is told by BOAC representatives,
that the plane was carrying
a one-ton shipment of gold.
But the PFLP never return
to Dawson's Field.
In the following days,
Jordan launched an all-out war
against the Palestinian guerrillas.
In the following month,
known as Black September,
over 5,000 troops
were killed on all sides.
Bassam escaped to the mountains.
Jordanian snatch squads
freed 18 of the remaining hostages.
The rest were later released
by the PFLP.
Leila Khaled and six
Palestinian prisoners held in Europe
were later returned.
Israel released no Arab prisoners.
Until Black September,
hijackings were still rare.
In the years following events
at Dawson's Field,
there were hundreds of hijackings.
Terrorism had entered a new age.
In the end, at Dawson's Field,
no hostages were harmed.
Eighteen years later,
it was a different outcome.
It's the 21st of December, 1988.
Mikhail Gorbachev has been elected
President of the Soviet Union.
An inquiry has started
into the North Sea disaster
on the Piper Alpha oil platform.
The IRA renews its mainland attacks
after the shooting of three
IRA suspects in Gibraltar.
And in a small Scottish town,
preparations for Christmas
are getting underway.
It's four days before Christmas
in the farming town of Lockerbie,
a quiet, rural backwater
situated in the southwest of Scotland,
not far from the English border.
Ella Ramsden celebrated Christmas
a week early
as her son Jimmy and his family
have to get back to their home
in West Germany.
- See you, Mum.
- Take care. Love you, Son.
Have a nice Christmas. I love you.
ELLA: Our Christmas was wonderful
It was the first time the family had
all been together in five years.
NARRATOR: Since she lost her husband
seven years ago,
the 59-year-old has lived alone
in the house
with her Jack Russell
At Heathrow Airport, a Pan Am Jumbo
is just arriving from San Francisco.
After being joined by a new crew,
it will become Pan Am Flight 103,
destination - Detroit, USA
Inside Terminal 3,
46-year-old Jaswant Basuta
is anxious to get back home
to Tarrytown, New York.
Good evening.
6:00 flight to New York, please.
Let me just check for you.
NARRATOR: He's due to start a new fob
as a car mechanic in the morning
and is looking forward
to spending Christmas
with his wife and two children.
Basuta came to Europe in early December
to attend his brother-in-law's wedding
in Belfast
He checks in two suitcases
for Pan Am Flight 103 to Detroit
via JFK Airport in New York.
That's your passport and your boarding
pass. If you just go to Gate 14.
Okay. Thank you. Bye, bye.
- Merry Christmas to you.
- And the same to you.
Terminal 3 is busy
with the Christmas rush.
Many passengers for Flight 103
have already checked in.
Others are still arriving on
feeder flights from across Europe.
Two weeks ago,
the American Embassy in Finland
received a warning of a bomb attack
on & Pan Am flight
from Frankfurt to the United States.
All US airlines and
embassies were alerted.
Some took the threat seriously.
Others dismissed it as a hoax.
The warning was never made public.
Tonight, the last connecting flight
from Frankfurt for Pan Am 103
is still to arrive.
Three miles outside Lockerbie,
a photographer for the local paper,
Robin Bryden, is getting ready
for Christmas with his wife Susan.
They both work on the local newspaper,
the Dumfries and Galloway Standard.
This week's edition is finished, so
Robin and Susan have got a few days off.
Susan is three months pregnant
with their first child.
They've recently told
their parents the news
and are expecting them all round
for Christmas Day.
At 5:40, Pan Am's Frankfurt flight
touches down.
It's a quick turnaround for the transit
passengers joining the Detroit flight,
due for departure at 6:00 p.m.
The luggage is transferred onto
the Clipper Maid of the Seas.
Pan Am security has failed
to detect an explosive device
concealed in one of the suitcases
in the hold.
(PEOPLE CHATTERING)
In the bar of Terminal 3,
Jaswant Basuta is with relatives
who are at the airport to see him off.
As a Sikh,
he's not supposed to drink alcohol
but, as it's a special occasion,
he makes an exception.
(ALL SPEAKING IN PUNJABI)
Circuit breakers, check.
Check.
NARRATOR:
In the Maid of the Seas cockpit,
the American crew are running through
final checks before takeoff.
Captain James Bruce MacQuarrie
is in charge.
Stand by, power
NARRATOR: The 55-year old captain is
a veteran of nearly 11,000 flight hours.
Sitting alongside is First Officer,
Ray Wagner.
The third member of the crew,
Flight Engineer Jerry Avritt,
checks the distribution of fuel
for the 3,500 mile journey.
Pan Am 103 is nearly finished boarding.
(ALL TALKING IN PUNJABI)
Jaswant Basuta's brother-in-law
reminds him it's time to go.
Basuta has a reputation
for missing flights.
It's a standing joke within the family.
But he's due to start a new fob
in the morning
so he can't afford
to miss his plane this evening.
Heathrow Ground, good evening.
Clipper 1053
NARRATOR: The crew are anxious
to get going for the eight-hour flight.
(MAN CHATTERING ON RADIO)
Clear, push and start. Clipper 103.
Can I go onto the plane?
NARRATOR: When Jaswant Basuta arrives at
Gate 14, he finds it's already closed.
MAN: Are you Mr Basuta, yeah?
Yeah, I have got my boarding pass.
I've got luggage already on the plane.
I'm sorry, sir, but the gates
are closed. The boarding's finished.
NARRATOR:
Security refuse to let him on board.
But they decide not to remove his bags
as it will delay the flight
even further.
We've got to get away.
I'm terribly sorry.
What am I to do now?
NARRATOR: Basuta has some explaining
to do at home.
Heathrow Ground.
Clipper 103, ready for taxi.
NARRATOR: The crew tax! into position
awaiting clearance for takeoff.
(CHATTER ON RADIO)
Roger, via the inner taxiway.
NARRATOR: Ella Ramsden has just returned
from visiting relatives in Lockerbie.
She tidies up her grandson's room
before settling down for the evening.
ELLA: I didn't want to be on my own.
It felt strange with the house
being so empty again.
NARRATOR: At 6:25, Captain MacQuarrie
finally gets permission for takeoff.
- Clipper 103 rolling.
- Roger.
(CHATTER ON RADIO)
125.8, roger. Goodbye.
NARRATOR: The plane climbs through
heavy cloud over London.
They need to make up time
if the flight's to arrive
in New York on schedule.
It's heading north up the west coast
of Britain into Scotland,
before crossing the Atlantic.
(CHATTER ON RADIO)
4 Golf, contact London 119.87.
Do you want us to continue this heading?
NARRATOR: At the Scottish Air Traffic
Control Centre in Prestwick,
it's been a busy day.
Transatlantic flights have been
diverting through their sector
because of gales.
(CHATTER ON RADIO)
Speedboat 12, Scottish Control,
good evening.
Squawk ident, maintain flight level 350.
NARRATOR: It's controller Alan Topp's
job to monitor all domestic planes
and make sure they steer clear
of Pan Am 103's airspace.
In Lockerbie, the residents are
getting into the holiday spirit
The pubs are full of Christmas drinkers.
Others are out delivering presents and
catching up with friends and relatives.
Many are enjoying a quiet night in.
Ella Ramsden is settling down to open
today's delivery of Christmas cards.
Look at the cards.
Oh, that's a nice one.
Oh, yes, that's nice.
NARRATOR: In the Bryden household,
Susan is washing up after dinner
while Robin relaxes in front of the
television watching This Is Your Life.
Pan Am 103 is 35 minutes into its
flight, current altitude 31,000 feet.
Air Traffic Controller Alan Topp
is watching its progress.
There are no other flights
at that altitude to worry him.
Topp is about to go for a coffee break
when he notices something
unusual on his radar.
Clipper 103 Scottish, do you read me?
Clipper 103 Scottish, do you read me?
Clipper 103 Scottish, do you read me?
Clipper 103 Scottish, do you read me?
NARRATOR: He tries to contact the crew.
Clipper 103 Scottish, do you read me?
NARRATOR: There's no response.
Six miles above the people of Lockerbie,
there is an explosion
on board Flight 103,
(EXPLOSION)
Topp contacts
other air traffic controllers.
This is Scottish Centre.
Do you have any sign of Clipper 103?
NARRATOR: But none of them can see
Flight 103 either.
The Pan Am flight is now breaking up
on Topp's radar screen,
spreading out
over the southwest of Scotland.
The people of Lockerbie are oblivious
to what's about to hit them.
With the motors still running, the
wreckage thunders down at 600 mph.
It takes 36 seconds to reach the ground.
The plane's fuel tanks explode
on impact.
A 300-foot fireball engulfs the town.
Alan Topp calls for
his shift supervisor, Adrian Ford.
He's busy dealing with an emergency call
from the pilot of another aircraft,
who's just seen a massive explosion
on the ground.
Robin Bryden is stunned by what he sees.
BRYDEN: It was like the old pictures
of the atom bomb.
It was a huge mushroom cloud of fire
above the town.
It was a terrifying sight.
NARRATOR: Ford and Topp both know
what they're witnessing.
Moments later,
the rear fuselage section of the jumbo
jet slams into Ella Ramsden's house.
But the kitchen door won't open,
buckled by the force of the impact
She desperately tries to escape.
ELLA: I thought my last moment had come,
when, all of a sudden,
the noise stopped.
There was a terrible quietness,
which I will never forget.
NARRATOR: Photographer Robin Bryden
races, via backstreets,
to the centre of Lockerbie.
Initially, many think
an RAF fighter jet has crashed.
There are also reports that
a petrol station has exploded.
Within minutes of the impact,
fire, police and ambulance controls,
realise they are dealing with
a major incident.
Hundreds of emergency vehicles
from across Scotland
and the north of England respond
to the unfolding disaster.
Dumfries and Galloway authorities put
their emergency plan into action.
It's designed for an explosion
at the region's nuclear power station.
The biggest crash site
is at Sherwood Crescent,
a quiet street of modern bungalows next
to the main Scotland-to-England road.
Ninety tons of aviation fuel
has exploded here.
Robin Bryden arrives
and is confronted by an inferno.
He's one of the first photographers
on the scene.
BRYDEN: Initially, I had no idea
what was going on.
Everyone felt helpless.
I covered the event as I saw it
in the darkness, I could see bodies
lying on the ground.
NARRATOR: In his haste, he's only
brought one roll of film with him.
The photographs that he takes
will appear
on the front pages of newspapers
around the world the next day.
Royal Air Force
search helicopters arrive,
picking out the main areas of wreckage.
Fire, debris and bodies are all over
the town and surrounding countryside.
There's a trail of personal possessions
and human life
spreading along a 40-mile corridor.
One of the engines is embedded
in a housing estate
at the north end of the town.
Ella Ramsden's house,
half a mile from Sherwood Crescent,
is one of the biggest crash sites.
Nevin Milligan,
her neighbour's son-in-law,
is astonished to find Ella still alive.
Ella's survival is miraculous
but some Lockerbie residents
are not so fortunate.
As far as I know, I've lost
my brother-in-law, my sister-in-law,
and their house is
just a 30-foot crater.
Where their house was I can't even
find the house. It's gone, like.
NARRATOR: Three miles out of town,
at Tundergarth Farm,
the Maid of the Seas'
cockpit is discovered.
It contains the bodies
of Captain MacQuarrie,
First Officer Ray Wagner
and Flight Engineer Jerry Avritt
Hospitals across the south of Scotland
are on standby.
But there's no need.
There's no sign of any survivors.
The only people
to need medical treatment
are 12 locals from Sherwood Crescent,
all for relatively minor injuries.
Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary,
the smallest police force
in mainland Britain,
find themselves dealing with the biggest
air disaster the UK has ever seen.
At 7:00 p.m. only one policeman
was on duly in Lockerbie.
Over the course of the night,
hundreds of extra officers
from forces throughout Scotland
are drafted in.
Teams of officers are instructed
to cordon off each area of wreckage
to ensure nothing is disturbed.
They know the disaster
could turn into a murder investigation.
Heathrow Police have been made aware
that a passenger failed to board
the flight after check-in.
They're keen to speak to a Mr Basuta
about why his baggage was on board the
doomed passenger jet, while he wasn't.
Do you know what happened
to that flight tonight?
NARRATOR: Jaswant Basuta is unaware
of the fate of the flight
He's had a remarkably lucky escape.
But the police now think he may have
something to do with the incident
and promptly take him away
for questioning.
Interview with a Mr Jaswant Basuta
at 20:45 on the 21st of December, 1988.
When did you come to England?
NARRATOR: When he tells the officer
where's he's been visiting,
he becomes a key suspect
I was attending a wedding in Belfast.
- Belfast?
- Yes.
Have you got connections there?
Yeah, I've got a couple of friends
and I've been there
a couple of times before.
What was in your luggage?
I had some Christmas presents
for my family
and some gifts were given to me
from relations.
Listen, I didn't miss
this flight deliberately.
NARRATOR: As Jaswant
protests his innocence,
news is spreading of tonight's
horrifying events.
Good evening.
A Pan American Boeing 747 airliner
flying from London to New York
crashed tonight in the Scottish Borders.
Police say there have been
many casualties.
They don't yet know how many,
or if anybody on the plane survived.
Flight 103 left Heathrow
at 6:00 this evening,
bound for John F. Kennedy Airport,
New York.
NARRATOR: Across the Atlantic, relatives
expecting to collect loved ones
are confronted by the breaking news.
Oh, my baby.
NARRATOR: 777 of the 259 passengers
on board are American.
Pan Am is unable to officially confirm
who has died.
We are right now formulating
the passenger lists.
We're confirming exactly who was aboard
and we will begin notification
of next of kin.
NARRATOR: But most know
there's little chance of any survivors.
The death toll on the ground
is also unknown.
At Lockerbie Town Hall,
locals desperately check
a list of residents
for the names of friends and family
who have survived.
Jaswant Basuta's English relatives
have seen the news reports
about the tragedy.
They believe he is one of the victims.
(ALL CHATTERING IN PUNJABI)
Jaswant has been held at Heathrow
Police Station for the last four hours.
But the police finally accept Basuta's
story and tell him he's free to go.
(PHONE RINGING)
Hello?
Hello. who's speaking?
(SPEAKING IN PUNJABI)
Okay, okay, I'll see you soon.
Okay. Thanks. Bye.
NARRATOR: In the early hours,
Robin Bryden goes to
the newspaper offices
of the Dumfries and Galloway Standard.
The staff of the Standard work through
the night to cover the unfolding events.
Next day, they produce a special edition
of their paper reacting to the tragedy.
Robin's photographs are immediately
wired around the world.
But he's never credited, nor does he
receive any payment for his work.
BRYDEN: I didn't mind
not getting any recognition.
For me, what was important was
documenting the tragedy.
I was satisfied that I had done
a good job in difficult circumstances.
NARRATOR: As day breaks,
the full picture of the disaster
is all too clear.
In Sherwood Crescent, the exploding
fuel-tanks have left a crater
755 feet long and 40 feet wide.
Six homes have been obliterated.
Eleven Lockerbie residents
have died in the blast
Of all the victims,
17 bod/es would never be found.
But there are some unexpected survivors.
The drivers and passengers in the burnt
out cars have all managed to escape.
WOMAN: The devastation around Lockerbie
is everywhere to be seen.
Until the tragic ending
of the Pan Am flight,
this was a small Scottish town
preparing for Christmas.
Now it is a town in trauma.
NARRATOR: Ella Ramsden's survival is
all the more surprising in daylight
On the few remaining slates
of what had once been her roof,
a body lies spread-eagled and battered.
In the days that follow, 70 other bodies
are dug out of the ruins of her home.
MAN: Memories of the night
disaster came to 71 Park Place
will never leave
the woman who lived there.
Ella Ramsden's is the most miraculous
survival story of all
I'm so sorry for the people
that have died and their families.
It's more difficult for them.
I've only lost a house, that's all.
NARRATOR: The cockpit
remains eerily intact
The bodies of the crew are removed
and taken to the town hall,
which has turned into
a makeshift morgue.
Debris from the plane
is spread over 850 square miles.
The massive task
of combing the countryside
for every piece of wreckage begins.
The four policemen who normally work in
Lockerbie are joined by 1,100 officers
and 1,000 soldiers,
firemen and volunteers.
It's the grim fob of the search crews
to gather all the victims.
Priority is given to moving bodies
that are in public view,
particularly those of children.
There were 12 children
under the age of 10 on board.
The youngest was nine months old.
The final death toll stands at 270,
It was a week later before
crash investigators confirmed
that they'd found proof of the cause.
It was a bomb which blasted the
Pan American Jumbo Jet out of the sky
above Scotland a week ago tonight,
almost to the hour.
Salvage teams and air crash
investigators have found the residue
of a high-performance plastic explosive.
NARRATOR: It would be 12 years before
two suspects were charged
and brought to trial
One of them, Abdel Basset al-Megrahi,
a Libyan intelligence officer,
was found guilty
and is currently serving
a 20-year sentence in a Scottish prison.
In 2003, Libya agreed to pay
over £6 million compensation each
to the families of victims.
But the Libyan Government still refused
to accept responsibility
for the worst act of terror
on British soil