The 1980s began in Syracuse with the Carrier Dome holding its first football game and a fuzzy orange is introduced as a candidate for SU’s new mascot. And while Otto and the Carrier Dome have undoubtably become a part of Syracuse’s collective history, a tragedy in 1988 holds a different and important spot.
A bomb blew a basketball sized hole in Pan Am Flight 103’s fuselage, breaking the plane apart as it fell to the ground in Lockerbie, Scotland.
259 people were on the plane, and all of them were killed. 11 residents of Lockerbie also died when the plane crashed to the ground. 35 of the victims were Syracuse University students, returning from their semester abroad just before the holidays.
Syracuse University continues to honor the memory of the students it lost, and the families of victims changed the way the United States handles airport security.
Her Hilltop High is a look at the 150 year history of Syracuse University ahead of its Sesquicentennial in March 2020.
