U.S. Commission to Probe Pan Am Charges on Flight 103

A presidential commission will look into a contention by Pan American World Airways that U.S. officials were warned that Flight 103 was targeted by terrorists before it blew up over Scotland, two commission members said Thursday.

At the same time, relatives of some of the 270 people killed in the disaster accused the government of “negligent disregard for airport and airline security and terrorism and a lax government response” to the Dec. 21 bombing. They say they have been repeatedly rebuffed in efforts to gain complete information from the government.

“This cesspool of unaccountability in Washington, D.C., has got to end,” Bert Ammerman, president of Victims of Pan Am 103, told a news conference. “It’s time to marshal the full resources of our investigative agencies to get to the truth.”

The jet exploded as it flew over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 259 people aboard the flight to New York and 11 on the ground.

Appearing at the same news conference, Sens. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and Alfonse M. D’Amato (R-N.Y.) said that the seven-member commission will look into the airline’s allegation that 36 hours before the crash, the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad warned U.S. authorities of a possible terrorist attack.

They also said that the commission will investigate Pan Am’s contention that West Germany’s investigative agency reported “suspicious activities” at the Frankfort airport loading area within 90 minutes of the flight.

Lautenberg said he has no information that would verify or disprove the Pan Am allegations, which were made in papers filed in federal court in Brooklyn.