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What happened to Steven Flannigan from The Bombing of Pan Am 103?
Steven's tragic story is told in the new drama about the Lockerbie bombing.
BBC/World Productions
- James Hibbs
Published: Friday, 31 July 2026 at 7:00 am
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Although The Bombing of Pan Am 103 aired on the BBC last year, the series has now landed on Netflix and charts the aftermath of Lockerbie, the devastating attack which saw 270 people killed.
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Based on the tragic true story of the bombing, the six-parter explores the fact that as well as those on board the plane, residents of Lockerbie and the surrounding area were also killed, as the wreckage of the aircraft fell from the sky.
The story of Steven Flannigan is told in the series, with us meeting the young boy whose parents and sister were killed while he was out of the house running an errand.
His emotional story is affectingly told throughout the episodes, as he tries to rebuild his life following the tragedy which left him orphaned and homeless. Steven's real-life story beyond the series' events was also tragic, as he sadly died at the age of 26.
Read on for everything you need to know about the real life of Steven Flannigan, as portrayed by Archie McCormick in The Bombing of Pan Am 103.
What happened to Steven Flannigan, as seen in The Bombing of Pan Am 103?
Archie McCormick as Steven Flannigan, Andrew Marley as David Flannigan and Connor Swindells as DS Ed McCusker in The Bombing of Pan Am 103 BBC/World Productions
Steven Flannigan was a 14-year-old resident of Lockerbie when the bombing of Pan Am 103 occurred. That night he had taken his sister's Christmas present, a new bicycle, to a neighbour to be checked over.
When he returned parts of the wreckage of the plane had fallen on his home, killing his parents Tom and Kathleen Flannigan, as well as his 10-year-old sister, Joanne. They were three of the 270 victims of the attack that night.
He did have one close surviving relative, his 19-year-old brother David. David had been living with a friend in Blackpool for a few weeks at that time.
In the series, Steven is seen becoming friends with DS Ed McCusker. This element is based on real life but the scenes on screen have been fictionalised. In reality, Steven received support from the Lockerbie community in general and another officer, Alex Smith, whose story was merged with that of McCusker.
Producer Julia Stannard explained this, saying: "Our Ed McCusker as shown in the drama reflects the experiences of a number of the Scottish cops who were involved in the initial investigation, as well as the real Ed McCusker. Alex Smith, whose father lived in Sherwood Crescent was one of the first of the Police Officers on the scene on the night of the crash.
"Alex also knew the Flannigan family, and of course Steven. Steven and his brother lost their parents and sister in the destruction of their family home on Sherwood Crescent. Although we tell elements of Alex’s story, we don’t depict him as a character in the programme and instead, our character of Ed incorporates his actions."
In real life, as Steven and David attempted to rebuild their lives following the tragedy, they were awarded around £2.1 million in compensation, which Steven invested, but David spent as quickly as he could, calling it "dirty money".
David died from heart failure at the age of 24 five years after the Lockerbie bombing, in 1993. He had lived a life filled with drugs and drink, and died in a hostel in Thailand.
Connor Swindells as DS Ed McCusker and Archie McCormick as Steven Flannigan in The Bombing of Pan Am 103. Netflix
A few months after his brother's death Steven left Lockerbie and, in a surprise decision, trained to become a jumbo jet pilot in Florida.
He returned to Glasgow with a new friend, John Boyce, and in 1996 fell in love with a woman named Lisa Gregory who he met on a visit back to Lockerbie. When she became pregnant he moved back to live with her in Lockerbie.
However, the relationship disintegrated before their son Luke was born in 1997, and Steven travelled to Bradford on Avon, where he moved in with Boyce and his wife.
In 1999, Boyce and his wife moved to Heywood to start a guesthouse, and Steven became a partner in the business and moved in with them again.
In 2000, Steven showed some of the guesthouse visitors the local pub, before heading back using an unsigned route. Under what circumstances remains uncertain, but at some point he fell across the nearby train lines, and was hit by a slow-moving train in the early hours of the morning.
"He was absolutely like he always was," Tony Elderkin, manager of the Royal Oak and a close friend of Steven, said. "He'd bought me some haggis back from Scotland and after the visitors had gone, we sat together until almost 1am, watching the golf.
"He was just learning to play and was hugely enthusiastic - he was due to play the next day and was careful not to drink too much because he didn't want to spoil his game."
The momentum of the train was so slow that he survived for two more days in hospital, although he never regained consciousness, and died at the age of 26.
"It's wretched, wretched. He had everything to live for," Martyn Wilmott, Steven's close friend and the man who Steven was to play golf with the day of his accident, said.
"For three unnatural accidents to obliterate a family of five is almost too much. It's hard to believe life can do this to anyone. I find it very hard to bear."
As of 2018, his son Luke was aged 21, and was the sole beneficiary of a Steven's compensation, which had been placed in a trust fund. He was said to live on a remote sheep farm on the outskirts of Lockerbie.
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The Bombing of Pan Am 103 is available to stream on Netflix.
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Authors
James HibbsDrama Writer
James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.
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