IDENTIFICATION IN THE LOCKERBIE AIR DISASTER

In the aftermath of the Lockerbie air disaster, identification of the victims (plane occupants and local residents) was established by two p rimary methods: odontology and dactylography. Scottish law requires co rroboration of evidence of identity, so both primary methods were used whenever possible, with further evidence occasionally derived from th e matching of physical characteristics, personal effects and details f rom past medical records. Of the 270 victims, 253 were positively iden tified. Of these, 209 were identified with the aid of odontology.