Release #13.69
December 21, 2013

Airline Pilots Mark 25th Anniversary of Pan Am Flight 103 Bombing

WASHINGTON – Capt. Lee Moak, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA), issued the following statement to mark the 25th anniversary of the terrorist bombing of Pan Am Flight 103:

“ALPA’s pilot members and staff note with solemn reverence the 25th anniversary of the terrorist bombing that brought down Pan Am Flight 103 on Dec. 21, 1988.

“Captain James McQuarrie, First Officer Raymond Wagner, Second Officer Jerry Avritt, their crew of 13 flight attendants, all 243 passengers, and 11 people on the ground perished when the Boeing 747, bound from London to New York, came apart in flight and crashed into the town of Lockerbie, Scotland.

“We still feel their loss today. That loss, however, only further steels the resolve of every ALPA member to build on our union’s decades of work to prevent hijackings, bombings, and other acts of violence against the air transportation system on which so many passengers and shippers depend.

“ALPA will continue to work closely with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Transportation Security Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Interpol, and other national and international law enforcement and security agencies and our industry partners to ensure that we do all we can to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.”

Founded in 1931, ALPA is the world’s largest pilot union, representing nearly 50,000 pilots at 32 airlines in the United States and Canada. Visit the ALPA website at www.alpa.org.

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CONTACT: ALPA Media, 703/481-4440 or Media@alpa.org