Release #09.064
August 20, 2009

Pilots: Lockerbie Terrorist Release “Deplorable”

WASHINGTON – Capt. John Prater, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA), issued the following statement regarding the release of Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, who was convicted of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.

“The Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l, condemns the release of the man convicted of bombing Pan Am Flight 103 and taking the lives of 270 innocent people, including Captain James Bruce MacQuarrie, First Officer Raymond Ronald Wagner, and Flight Engineer Jerry Don Avritt.

“We still feel their loss today and it drives the resolve of every ALPA pilot to build on our Association’s decades of work to prevent hijackings and ensure that air travel is as safe and secure as possible. The cockpit crew, the cabin crew, and the passengers of Flight 103 will never be forgotten.”

Founded in 1931, ALPA is the world’s largest pilots union, representing nearly 53,500 pilots at 36 airlines in the United States and Canada.

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Contact: Linda Shotwell, 703/481-4440 or media@alpa.org