Families of 1988 Lockerbie bombing hope for justice with suspect in custody

Nearly 10 of the more than 250 victims of Pan Am Flight 103 that crashed in Scotland in 1988 have ties to Connecticut.

Mark Sudol

Dec 12, 2022, 10:21 PM

Updated 670 days ago

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Nearly 10 of the more than 250 victims of Pan Am Flight 103 that crashed in Scotland in 1988 have ties to Connecticut. One family member of a New York man still lives in our area.
Paul Zwynenburg, from Westport, says his brother Mark was on his way home to visit family for Christmas 34 years ago.
Mark was on Pan Am Flight 103 that was destroyed over Lockerbie, Scotland. Paul was supposed to pick his 29-year-old brother up in New York.
"He never made it home. He was blown up at 33,000 feet," said Paul Zwynenburg.
Mark was an investment banker at Goldman Sachs in London. The family grew up in West Nyack, New York.
"Thirty-four years later, we're getting to see some real justice," said Zwynenburg.
Authorities say a Libyan man accused of involvement in making the bomb is now in custody.
"It's a little bit of a relief to see some progress, although it's taken a very very long time," said Zwynenburg.
Two other men were accused of placing the explosives in a portable cassette and radio player that was inside a suitcase on the plane. One was sentenced to 27 years in prison but released after being diagnosed with cancer and later died. The other suspect was acquitted.
"What was behind this has really never been put out in the public arena," said Zwynenburg.
Zwynenburg says the safety measures put in place after 9/11 may have prevented terrorist attacks but that we still need to be on guard.
"I think in the immediate aftermath, I think things got really tightened up, but I think we've kind of loosened up the system now," said Zwynenburg.
Zwynenburg hopes the victims of Pan Am Flight 103 will get more justice from this recent arrest.
"If he is found guilty, hopefully it sends a clear message that you know the pursuit of justice of terrorists is not protected by international borders, and we will hunt you down and bring you to justice," said Zwynenburg.
The crash of Flight 103 remains the deadliest terror attack on British soil.