21 October 1998I have received this message from the Scottish Museum for Transport in Glasgow, who is preparing a Lockerbie Display next week in memory of the 10th anniversary of the Lockerbie disaster.
The Lockerbie Display :
The display is a long term one and scheduled to open on 28 October
1998 at the Museum of Transport, Glasgow, Scotland. As a long term display
I would welcome suggestions which might help to develop or add to the content
in some way.
This is the first part of a larger exhibition on Transport Disasters
due to be completed by summer 1999. The main causes of transport disasters
will be examined (act of God, sabotage, mechanical or design failure, criminal
negligence and human error) through six high profile disasters: The Lockerbie
display focuses on sabotage as a cause of disasters and opens on the 28
October 1998.
Since their development, mass forms of transport have been the target of sabotage. Aircraft are particularly vulnerable to small high explosive devices and carrying large numbers of people, they are an attractive target for political and religious groups wanting to wage war, exact revenge or gain headlines. In the 1930s - 50s, aircraft were also sabotaged by relatives' of passengers for life insurance claims. It is ten years since the explosion aboard Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, killed 259 passengers and 11 residents of the town. Although the perpetrators have yet to be brought to justice, the immediate cause of the disaster is well known - sabotage.
Visitors to the display first pass through an archway metal detector
and two security figures with hand-held metal detectors. Passing along
a short corridor, the scale of the loss of human life is poignantly portrayed
by the names and ages of victims of the disaster lining both walls. On
a hand luggage x-ray machine nearby are two aircraft `black box' recorders
and the dummy cassette recorder bomb which Dr Jim Swire, the father
of one of the victims, used to test airport security in 1990.
The personal response to the tragedy is shown through `Psalm of the
Shadows', Keith McIntyre's powerful painting inspired by Lockerbie, and
personal statements by some British relatives of the victims.
The design and lighting of the display is purposefully subdued to encourage a reflective and respectful mood. Putting together the display has required the help and assistance of a number of organisations including the victims' relatives support and pressure group, UK Families - Flight 103, the Air Accident Investigation Branch and Glasgow Airport.
For further information please contact
Lawrence Fitzgerald,
Curator (Science) Museum of Transport,
1 Bunhouse Rd., Glasgow G3 8DP, Scotland
Tel: 0141 287 2749
Fax: 0141 287 2692
e-mail: lawrence.fitzgerald@museums.glasgow.gov.uk