Is it Game Over for Pan Am Pilots?

American Thinker ^ | December 9, 2016 | Leesa K. Donner

[Kaslin]

In just two weeks, it will be twenty-eight years since Pan Am Flight 103 exploded at 31,000 feet over Lockerbie, Scotland – killing all 259 passengers as well as eleven citizens on the ground. And in a little less than one week, on December 14th, the “living wounded” of Pan Am Flight 103 will finally get their day in court.

Sixteen days before this tragic act of terrorism, which included the murder of thirty-five Syracuse University students aboard, the U.S Embassy in Finland had been tipped off that a bomb was set to be placed on a plane out of Frankfurt. Obviously, the brilliant minds in Helsinki did nothing to stop this act of barbarism that eventually led to the bankruptcy of Pan Am in 1991. In fact, “U.S. officials later said that the connection between the call and the bomb was purely coincidental.” Sure, just like in 2000 when Roger Clemens hit Mike Piazza in the head at Yankee Stadium with a vicious fastball that caused him to miss the All-Star game. Watch this and tell me if you think that too was “purely coincidental.” But I digress.

In 2008, Libya finally had to pony up and pay the families of the U.S. Lockerbie victims. But the game was hardly over, since the George W. Bush Justice Department negotiation gave Libya “immunity in U.S. courts from further terror claims once the funds had been paid,” according to an October 31, 2008 report by ABC News.

And that brings us to today.

[workerbee]

To date, “Justice” has done just about everything in its power to keep these pilots from getting any kind of compensation, none of which would be taxpayer money, according to plaintiff attorney Joanne Young.

I'm sorry, I'm not following. Does this refer to the agreement with Libya that shields them from other claims since they paid the Lockerbie families? If the argument is that the fed govt should make up for Pan-Am going under, wouldn't that by default mean "taxpayer money"?

[Paleo Conservative]

Most of them were bought up by American as I posted previously. Some of them were wet leased (with ex-Braniff flight crews) to Southwest temporarily so Southwest could expand service in California while they waited for their 737-300’s to be delivered.