Alleged Pan Am Flight 103 bombmaker Abu Agila Mohammad Mas'ud arrested, faces trial in U.S.

It has been more than three decades since the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.

Monday, a Libyan intelligence official accused of making the bomb appeared in federal court in the U.S. 

On Dec. 21, 1988, the plane had taken off from London-Heathrow airport and was en route to John F. Kennedy International Airport here in New York. 

After just 38 minutes in the air, a bomb in the forward cargo area exploded as the flight was over Lockerbie. Two hundred fifty nine people on board were killed, and 11 on the ground. Nearly 200 of them were Americans. 

Though this marks the third person charged in connection with the attack, he's the first to appear in an American courtroom. 

The U.S. Justice Department did not disclose how he was taken into U.S. custody. 

For the families of those killed, it's a significant milestone in the pursuit of justice, 34 years later. 

"I wasn't sure whether in my lifetime we would be able to see the day," said Victoria Cummock, widow of passenger John B. Cummock. 

It was just four days before Christmas 1988 when Pan Am Flight 103 exploded over Lockerbie. 

"He looked at the day that he was coming home as what a great day it was going to be, and that part always gets me," said Kara Weipz, president of the Victims of Pan Am Flight 103, Inc. 

Her brother, Rick Minetti of South Jersey, was one of 35 Syracuse University students killed on that flight as they were returning from a semester abroad. 

The crime scene spanned more than 840 square miles. 

Investigators pieced together fragments of the jet, leading to parts of a cassette recorder packed with explosives. 

The accused bombmaker is Libyan national Abu Agila Mohammad Mas'ud. The Justice Department announced charges against him two years ago, citing a confession he made to Libyan authorities back in 2012, as well as his travel records, which allegedly tied him to the crime. 

At the time, he was in Libyan custody. 

Another Libyan, Abdel Basset al-Megrahi was convicted in 2001 and imprisoned in Scotland, but released on compassionate grounds due to terminal cancer eight years later. 

He claimed innocence until his 2012 death. 

Outside the federal courthouse in Washington, D.C. Monday, Paul Hudson carried a picture of his daughter, Melina. The 16-year-old from New York was returning home from an exchange program in England when she was killed. 

Stephanie Bernstein's husband, Jericho, Long Island native Michael Bernstein, was also on the flight.

"It's some measure of justice and satisfaction that somebody who was so critical in the murders of our loved ones is going to be held accountable in the United States," she said. 

A third man, was also accused in the bombing but was later acquitted in a Scottish court.

Time has not healed any of the wounds for family members who lost loved ones on that day.

In all, 190 Americans were killed in the air, including 38 from New Jersey.

On Monday, CBS2 spoke to a wife and mother who has spent nearly four decades fighting for justice.

Mary Kay Stratis' husband, Elia, was killed on Pan Am Flight 103 several days before Christmas back in 1988.

"The loss of my husband is a void that happened, and will never be filled," Stratis said.

For 34 years, memories and reminders of her loss fill the corners of her Montvale, New Jersey home.

"I've watched my children graduate from elementary school without him there, high school, college, post college. I have two daughters and a son. I walked my daughters down the aisle," Stratis said.

She is the chairperson of the Victims of Pan Am Flight 103 Organization, and believes justice is finally here now that bombing suspect Abu Agila Mohammad Mas'ud is in an American courtroom.

"I feel confident we'll get a conviction. I feel confident he'll be sent to jail, and that's my preference, to see him in jail for the rest of his life in the United States," Stratis said.

"My understanding is Mas'ud has admitted that he built the bomb," she added. "He took it to Malta, set the timer, put it on a suitcase, and sent it on its way."

Mas'ud is the third suspect in the terror bombing case. Two others were captured and released, one for being terminally ill.

Stratis said she wants late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi held responsible as well.

"Gadhafi accepted blame for this, but he didn't admit to doing it," Stratis said.

Elia Stratis, a forensic accountant who traveled the world, wasn't supposed to be on Flight 103. He booked an early flight to surprise his family for Christmas. The moment Stratis will never forget was breaking the tragic news to her three young children.

"My 7-year-old shook her head and said, 'I only had seven years with him, but can I count the months I was in your tummy?' Reaching for more time with him," Stratis said.

Stratis said she will be watching everything as it unfolds on her iPad, and hopes to face the suspect in court.

Stratis said her husband's body was brought back for burial in the U.S. She also received some of his belongings, including a briefcase, sweater and passport.

However, she said she still can't look at the items.

Hear what Victoria Cummock, widow of passenger John B. Cummock, had to say in the video above. 

It has been more than three decades since the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. 

Monday afternoon, the Libyan intelligence official accused of making the bomb will be in federal court. 

The arrest is a huge step for families of victims waiting for justice. 

In 2020, American authorities announced charges against him while he was in Libyan custody at the time. 

Though he is the third person charged in connection with the attack, he'll be the first to appear in American courtroom. 

Libyan national Abu Agila Mohammad Mas'ud is in U.S. custody and will appear in a federal court in Washington, D.C. Monday afternoon. 

It has been 34 years since the deadly bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. All 259 people on board were killed, along with another 11 on the ground. One hundred and ninety of the victims were American. 

Kara Weipz's brother Rick Minetti of South Jersey was one of 35 Syracuse University students killed on that flight as they were returning from a semester abroad. 

"People always felt better about themselves after being around him," Weipz said. 

On Sunday, snow fell at the school honoring the students killed. Syracuse student Miriam Luby Wolfe, from Maryland, was also on that flight. 

"She was a part of our lives, and when you take that from us, there is a hole in our lives for their rest of our lives," said her father Larry Mild. 

Her parents say the capture of Mas'ud, who was charged nearly two years ago, marks a long-awaited milestone, but they've been disappointed with the outcome of the other two agents accused of working with Mas'ud. 

"So far we have been cheated twice. Fimah's acquittal and Megrahi's early release," Mild said. 

Two years ago, new charges were announced against Mas'ud, citing a confession he made to Libyan authorities back in 2012 as well as his travel records, which allegedly tied him to the crime. 

Stephanie Bernstein's husband Michael Bernstein, a native of Jericho, Long Island, was on the flight. 

"It was pretty surreal to hear that we have him in custody," she said. 

Ahead of the court appearance, there's been an outpouring of reaction from other victims' families. 

Another Libyan operative was convicted back in 2001 and imprisoned in Scotland, but released on compassionate grounds due to terminal cancer eight years later. He claimed innocence until his 2012 death. Another was acquitted. 

Officials did not say how Mas'ud was taken into U.S. custody.