Family of 1988 Lockerbie plane bombing victim speaks after suspect taken into US custody

GREENSBURG, Pa. (KDKA) - On Dec. 21, 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was carrying 259 people from London to New York. It never made it to that final destination.

A bomb, placed inside the plane, went off over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing everyone on board and an additional 11 people on the ground.

Nearly 200 victims were from the United States. One of those victims, Beth Ann Johnson, 21, was from Greensburg.

She was a senior at Seton Hill University and finishing up a semester abroad in London. Her parents, Glenn and Carole Johnson said she was flying home for Christmas. They planned to pick her up from the airport later that day.

They never got that opportunity.

Almost exactly 34 years after what is still known as the deadliest terror attack on British soil, the man accused of making the bomb that destroyed the plane and dozens of lives is in United States custody.

A Justice Dept. spokesperson confirmed Sunday that the U.S. had taken custody of Abu Agila Mohammad Masud and "he is expected to make his initial appearance in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia."

Masud is now the third Libyan intelligence official charged in the U.S. in connection with the Lockerbie bombing.

"270 people, with one heinous act. That person is not even a human being," Carole Johnson said of Masud.

Decades later, pictures of Beth Ann are still hung on the walls of the Johnson's home.

"She was truly every mother's ideal child," Carole Johnson said of her daughter.

Although time has passed, the Johnsons said the pain of losing Beth Ann hadn't gone away.

"You'd think after all this time…" Carole Johnson said. "But we're going to see her again. That's the only way I get through this life."

Their grief, however, never got in the way of their pursuit of change and justice for their daughter.

"I know for me, it just meant, looking for answers, looking for ways to improve things," Glenn Johnson, Beth Ann's father said. "I just felt that we had to do this to make Beth's death worth something."

Along with the families of some of the other victims, the Johnsons have been instrumental in making changes to the safety protocols in airports, many of which are in place today. They have also been involved in making sure the investigation remained active in Washington and that people were educated about the incident that took their daughter's life and changed theirs instantly.

Glenn and Carole Johnson said although they will never have total closure, their efforts have paid off.

The U.S. announced charges against Masud in 2020. 

In 2001, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was convicted of bombing the flight. To date, he's been the only person convicted in connection to the attack. He died in Libya in 2012.

Masud will be the first person accused of the bombing to stand trial in the U.S.

"I don't think this trial that's coming up would take place if it hadn't been for the families keeping it at the forefront," Glenn Johnson said.

In the time since Beth Ann's death, the Johnsons have not only worked with government agencies to improve airport security, but they have also worked closely with the Bush administration and other high-ranking government officials, including Hilary Clinton.

They said by keeping the tragic attack in the forefront, Beth Ann's life would never be forgotten.

"If I could say something to her, 'we miss you terribly,'" Carole Johnson said, directing her message at her late daughter. "'But we have tried to live our lives in a manner that would make you proud of us.'"

When she died, Beth Ann Johnson only had one semester left before she would have graduated from Seton Hill.

Her mother said she would have turned 56 years old in March.

U.S. officials have not said how Masud was taken into custody. It was also unclear when he would make his first court appearance in America.