Richard Monetti was 20 years old when he traveled abroad from London and became one of 35 students at Syracuse University, which he enjoyed his Christmas holiday from London.

But he and everyone else on the plane never came home.

They were killed in Britain's worst terror atrocities, when the bomb was possessed by a flying bomb, Pan Am 103, exploded above the Scottish town of Lockby.

It killed 270 people from 21 countries, including 11, and the scene caused a catastrophic event, which is now dramatized in the upcoming BBC TV series series The Bombing No. 103.

Kara Weipz still recalls how she and her family found out that her brother Richard was the dead of the group - they were first heard in news reports about the bombing.

In addition to increasing trauma, she said, the shortcomings in the victim’s family’s response system were highlighted.

"I think it's very important to make sure to learn these lessons - just like having to inform families before being named," she told BBC News.

"We didn't have this luxury in 1988, and we were released before the notification. So that's what happened from it, and the result changed."

As president of the victims of Pan AM 103 Group, she took the role from her father, Bob Monetti, who said relatives “know what rights they have” while stressing the group’s role in “educating people who deal with their victims.”

The lessons continue to improve how families of victims receive treatment after 9/11, when four planes flying across the eastern U.S. were caught by hijackers simultaneously, killing 2,977 people.

Screenwriter Gillian Roger Park was born a few days ago on the Lockbie Bombing, not far from the Scottish Town, and he is a co-writer of the series.

It dramatizes the Scottish investigation into the attack, its impact on victims’ families and how it affects Lockerbie’s locals.

Roger Park said the families “made history” and illustrate the flaws in the system.

“After lobbying and campaigning, many of the agreements introduced after 9/11 are based on the basis of their campaign,” she said.

Airlines also benefit from their experience.

She added: “Many Pan AM 103 family members train airlines that deal with their victims.”

Kathryn Turman is played by dismissal actress Merritt Wever and heads the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Crime Victims.

Turman arranged a trip for family members and looked at the 2000 trial of two bomb suspects in the Netherlands. The FBI pointed out that this was unprecedented at the time.

Weitz added: "We have victim services in the FBI of the U.S. Attorney's Office. Why? Because of Katherine, and because of 103 families of Pan Am."

Turman's character says in one of the plots: "These families should be protected and prioritized from the beginning...we can't make this mistake again."

The series also highlighted that British and American family groups lobbying “from strengthening travel warning systems and stricter luggage screening to responding to major human-centered disasters” has carried out “critical reforms.”

For Jonathan Lee, the lead author of the series, creating a factual drama is also a way to explore the human story behind horror 37 years later.

He said co-produced with Netflix, the show reveals "the story of the small but heroic creation of human behavior that these bombs try to blow up things."

It has surprisingly exciting moments for such a dark topic.

After the explosion, we witness the power of bonds built between people.

"The cooperation between families, states and law enforcement agencies has taken us from the worst human beings to the best," former lawyer Lee told the BBC.

“We piece things together by working together.”

The series is a puzzle - we see police and the FBI arduously dealing with thousands of pieces of evidence because Abdulbaset Al Megrahi was convicted of bombing in 2001.

Two years later, Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi accepted his country’s responsibility for the bombing and paid compensation to the victim’s family.

Other works in the TV series focus on life in the people of Lockbee and beyond, and volunteers step up to help traumatized families.

Wepps recalls a scene in the drama where her father attempts to reach a financial settlement for the death of her son in the Pan AM insurance group.

“That was one of the worst days of my life…I heard that your brother really has no value because he is 20 years old and is an assistant manager at the swimming club and mowed the grass…

"Looking at it, you see how terrifying it is."

We also saw women from Lockerbie making endless cakes for investigators, washing victims’ clothes while being sent home, and showing relatives where their loved ones died.

"It is important to enrich those emotional human stories and bring Scottish stories into life," Roger Park said of the volunteers.

“They did such hard work, it was not their job, they were just helping with locals who felt morally obliged.

“These women are like my gran, I know those types of women, I just think we rarely focus on these family stories.

"And what you have to do to do what they do. I just love that they use the tools of family life to do this heroic work."

Frank Ciulla, the father of New York-based Michelle Lipkin, was killed in the flight, and he spoke affectionately about "women who do laundry", including Ella Ramsden and Moira Shearer.

"My mother was close to Ella and Moira and when we went to Scotland we would see Moira."

“There is no words to describe our gratitude to them because our loved ones were murdered.

"It is the most evil of evil, so every piece of clothing they have washed, every meal they have made for the searcher - brings back what is possible, as well as the spirit and goodness of humanity."

Weitz also talked about the “compassion” that Lockebe showed in the hours after the bomb exploded.

"People sleep outside with their bodies, too. They don't want to leave them alone. It's overwhelming when I think about it."

Scottish actress Lauren Lyle plays the wife of Det Sgt Ed McCusker, one of Scottish police officers in June.

She said that while the investigation was a "male story because it was the 80s", she also believed that "women just stepped up" and was usually behind the scenes.

Lyle talked to real-life Ed McCusker to study her character and said: “About five years ago, she had cancer in June and she knew she was dying.

“She sounds like a very powerful woman, she tied her family together and I think she represents the people of Lockby.”

Weitz added: "Maybe people look at this will bring some compassion they see and move forward - we need more compassion in the world these days."

The bombing of the PAN AM 103 is on the 21.00 BST on the BBC iPlayer and BBC One, Sunday, May 18, and will be available on Netflix worldwide later on