Thomas G. Plaskett , a former American Airlines and Continental executive , replaced Acker as president in January 1988 ( joining Pan Am from the latter ) . While a program to refurbish Pan Am aircraft and improve the company 's on-time performance began showing positive results ( in fact , Pan Am 's most profitable quarter ever was the third quarter of 1988 ) , on December 21 , 1988 , the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 above Lockerbie , Scotland , resulted in 270 fatalities . Faced with a $ 300 million lawsuit filed by more than 100 families of the victims , the airline subpoenaed records of six U.S. government agencies , including the CIA , the Drug Enforcement Administration , and the State Department . Though the records suggested that the U.S. government was aware of warnings of a bombing and failed to pass the information to the airline , the families claimed Pan Am was attempting to shift the blame
Pan Am flight 103
Pan Am Flight 103
Pan American World Airways