On December 29, 1975 a bomb detonated at the baggage claim area of LaGuardia Airport, killing 11 people and injuring 74. As police, fire, and emergency medical staff rushed to the scene, investigtors began invetstigating who had detonated the bomb. They would never find out.

There was little doubt that LaGuardia was the target. The bomb was 25 sticks of dynamite placed in a coin operated locker. It was put together with typical household items such as a Westcox alarm clock and a Everready 6 volt battery. When the bomb detonated is blew shards of the metal lockers across the baggage claim area. It also shattered a large plate glass window and blew a hole in the concrete ceiling of the terminal. The blast started a fire that took over an hour to put out and required that thousands of gallons of water be poured into the crime scene, damaging much of the evidence. The death toll would have been much worse if it were not for the fact that the baggage claim area was mostly empty at the time.

The NYPD, FBI, ATF, and Port Authority Police put a task force together to investigate the bombing. It turned into one of the largest investigations in the history of New York City. There were false claims of responsibility, hoax phone calls about additional devices, and numerous terrorist groups to investigate and vet. This was a time where terrorism was a large problem in the US. The FALN, the PLO, the Jewish Defense League, and Croatian seperatists were all active in New York City at time. Even the Mafia made the list of potential suspects.

In the end, however, the case would not be solved. Who ever planted the bomb or whatever group orgainized the terror plot was never identified. All leads seemed to go nowhere, with unaffiliated suspects having alibis, and no groups seeming to have a motive, the case was one dead end after another.

PHOTO BY DAVID SHARPE - THIS IMAGE IS AVAILABLE FROM THE UNITED STATES LIBRARY OF CONGRESS