A friend of mine gave me coordinates to look up on Google Maps. I noticed that it appeared to be in the middle of a desert in Africa – so I just thought it was a prank. But when I zoomed in, I could not believe my eyes. What I thought I saw was a small airplane. So I did a little research and got the whole story from start to finish…
UTA (Union de Transports Aériens) Flight 772 was flying from Brazzaville (Republic of Congo) to Paris (France) CDG airport.
Here was the flight path UTA was supposed to take – but it never made it.
About eighteen years after the crash, families and loved ones of the victims convened at the site to build a memorial for them.
Because of the remoteness of the crash site, wreckage debris was still found at the site.
The wreckage seemed to be scattered all over.
It was amazing to discover what was still intact – even after all those years.
The association of the victims’ families and locals, known as Les Familles de l’Attentat du DC-10 d’UTA, created the memorial.
It was wonderful to see how the community pulled together.
Everyone was there to help.
The memorial was constructed of dark, hand-cut stones placed in a circle 200 feet in diameter.
As the Tenere region is one of the most inaccessible places on Earth, the stones had to be trucked in from over 44 miles away.
All of the stones were placed per the well-planned design.
It took a couple months to construct the memorial.
The construction was quite labor-intensive.
No one will forget the months of May and June in 2007 when the construction took place.
…and no one will forget the lives lost on that tragic day the plane went down.
…or the lives that were taken that day.
170 broken mirrors, each representing one victim, were carefully placed around the outside of the memorial.
The starboard wing of the aircraft was central to the memorial – it was trucked to the site from 10 miles away.
On the wing, all of the names of the lives that were lost can be read.
The names were engraved on a plaque.
The wing as it was placed into the ground.
The wing as the centerpiece of the memorial.
At last, the memorial was nearly complete.
The site was funded in part by the Libyan government.
The site is a wonderful tribute to all who were affected.
Almost done…
Finally, it was ready for dedication day…
Ready to serve the purpose for which it was designed…
…and built.
So as one zooms out…
It is unmistakable what occurred there.
The place is forever marked.
As seen from Google Earth…
…and Google Maps.
Six Libyan citizens were convicted of the terrorist attack that resulted in the loss of 155 passengers and 15 crew. Facing this tragedy dead-on, they created a memorial that will forever live in their hearts, the desert, and Google Earth.