Sky’s new five-part series is set to follow the journey of Dr Jim Swire (played by Colin Firth) and his search for justice after his daughter and 258 other passengers and crew were killed on Pan Am Flight 103.
The geopolitical thriller is based on horrific true events that took place in 1988. Here’s everything you need to know about one of the worst air disasters in history.
What is the true story behind Lockerbie: A Search for the Truth?
On December 21, 1988, just 38 minutes after take-off, 259 passengers and crew were killed when Pan Am Flight 103 exploded over Lockerbie. As the plane fell from the sky, 11 residents of the small Scottish town lost their life.
Pan Am Flight 103 was a regular scheduled flight that went from Frankfurt to Detroit via stops in London and New York City. The flight was in transit when a bomb went off and is considered the deadliest terror attack in the UK’s history.
A three year investigation was launched by Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary along with the FBI. Arrest warrants for two Libyan nationals were issued in 1991.
It wasn’t until 2001 that former Libyan intelligence officer Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was convicted of the murders of all 270 people who died as a result of the bombing.
He is the only person to ever be convicted for the attack. He died in 2012 after being released from prison on compassionate grounds after being diagnosed with cancer.
Who is Dr Jim Swire?
The Sky series is followed through the eyes of Dr Swire, who became the nominated spokesperson for the UK victims’ families.
He travelled across continents and political divides to demand justice not only for his daughter Flora, but for the other families who lost loved ones.
From the moment the Lockerbie disaster took place, Jim has dedicated his life to searching for the truth about what happened and who is responsible for his daughter’s death.
What does Dr Jim Swire think of the series?
Speaking ahead of the release of Lockerbie: A Search for the Truth, Jim said: “It is an extraordinary development in a campaign which, up until now, had been seeming that it would die away except for the work of future historians who I thought would eventually uncover the real truth and promote it.
“You can see the juxtaposition there between, what for us, is still a very simple family affair we want to know who murdered our eldest daughter, as simple as that.”
When asked his personal opinion of the series, Dr Swire added: “The thing that mattered was that it seemed to be that it was an honest representation of what the UK family group had tried to do, and the small amount that we’ve managed to achieve as private individuals, which has been enough to show us just how vulnerable the official version is to proper probing and what really lies behind this terrible atrocity.”
Lockerbie: A Search for the Truth airs on Sky from January 2nd.