ROANOKE TIMES

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, May 11, 1990                   TAG: 9005110061
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short


SOME VICTIMS' KIN END SUITS IN PAN AM BOMB

Pan Am and ground victims from Lockerbie, Scotland, have settled claims arising from the terrorist bombing that sent Flight 103 crashing into the town, the carrier and the victims' attorneys said Thursday.

"We are very pleased that we have been able to reach an agreement, but beyond that we cannot give specifics," said Elizabeth Manners, spokeswoman for New York-based Pan Am.

A bomb in Flight 103's luggage hold exploded over Lockerbie shortly after the New York-bound Boeing 747 took off from London on Dec. 21, 1988. All 259 people aboard died. Eleven people on the ground were killed, dozens were injured and homes were demolished as debris rained down on the town.

The Lockerbie lawsuits were filed in Florida because two Miami-based Pan Am subsidiaries - Pan Am World Services and Alert Management Systems - were accused of failing to provide adequate security for the flight.

The lawsuits charged that Pan Am "had actual and constructive knowledge" that Flight 103 "was subject to a specific and known danger of terrorist or other criminal or wrongful activities."

About 250 Lockerbie families filed claims against the airline, which agreed the Lockerbie ground victims were covered by Scottish law, said Miami attorney Aaron Podhurst. - Associated Press



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