WHY LOCKERBIE?

UK, 1990, 90 minutes, Colour.
Peter Boyle, Timothy West, Ned Beatty, Michael Wincott, Vincent Gardenia.
Directed by Leslie Woodhead.

Why Lockerbie is a docu-drama by British Granada Television. It is part of their series of the late '80s in exploring political situations, crimes of international interest.

A Pan Am flight crashed over Lockerbie, Scotland, December 21 1988. It was an act of sabotage by Arab terrorists. Pan Am was careless in its security. Frankfurt Airport was also careless in its security. There were series of investigations. Because of the Christmas timing, the disaster received international attention and sympathy.

The film uses documentary and drama combined to give audiences some kind of background briefing. American character actors portray the Pan Am personnel, highlighting the short-cuts taken by big business. Peter Boyle and Timothy West portray security experts.

Intercut into the background of Pan Am's security and developments at various international airports are sequences of Arabs in Jordan, Malta and Germany - terrorists skilled in making bombs, refining the technology and getting them aboard planes. The situation in 1988 of the Americans shooting down an Iran jet with many deaths triggers the reprisal with the terrorist act on the Pan Am plane exploding over Lockerbie.

The film goes only for 90 minutes and offers the documentary content in the framework of a movie narrative.

1.Effective documentary drama? The value of this kind of re-creation of situations?

2.The film as a news report, background briefing? Accusations? The investigations? The effect on public opinion?

3.The facts of the crash, its dramatic impact in 1988? Grief, terrorism? Consequent investigations and apportioning of blame?

4.Audience knowledge of the crash, of crashes in particular, general air safety and security? The role of the multinational companies?

5.The Pan Am background: the character actors portraying the personnel? Their meetings, discussions, finance, advertising campaigns, profits? Cutting costs? The opening security test and getting the bag on the plane? The personalities of the executives and their discussions? Ford and his plans for greater security, the security company? Money, the Libyan background of 1986, the need for greater security, surcharges to finance security? Pan Am coping, changing its mind, double-talk?

6.Ford and his plans, training, being thwarted? Pan Am and the local guards, being dressed up as if they were a special company? Press conferences and advertising?

7.The British security expert, his background, military, training, ideas? His fighting for two years to get developments? The American unions and their pressure on the companies?

8.The intercutting of the Arab backgrounds in Jordan, Malta, Germany? Motivations, the facts, Islam and faith? The characters, leadership, their actions? Refinement of bombs? The German surveillance, the detailed information, the raid, the arrests, the interrogation, the courts, the action of the judges and evidence, throwing cases out? Political pressure? Arabs becoming informants? The Iran crash, the revenge plan?

9.1988 and security at international airports, lack of personnel, money? The growing threat of terrorism? Ignorance of the companies?

10.Frankfurt International Airport, the large amount of traffic? Rick and his training plans, personnel, employing the British expert? Small amount of money available, attempts to train people? Language difficulties, the sessions? Inspections, the cover-ups? Personnel-intensive as each tried to cover all the jobs needed? The failure of the scanning facilities? The officials and their answering to New York offices? Avoiding responsibility? The poor standard?

11.The build-up to the take-off of the plane, the personnel on the plane, leaving London, ground control, the crash of the plane? The possibility of avoiding the crash? Blame? The voice-over explanations of how the luggage was transferred from Frankfurt in Heathrow and the lack of supervision? A caution for the future?