A Moment in Bank History

The Downing of a Valued Colleague

2025 Dramatic TV Series Renews Memories of Frank Ciulla

 
By Janin Campos
 
Recently, I watched the 2025 dramatized but factual series on television of the Lockerbie disaster (Lockerbie: A Search for Truth), about the bombing by Libyan terrorists of Pan Am Flight 103 from London Heathrow on 21 December 1988. The Boeing 747 exploded mid-air at 19.00, shortly after taking off, and crashed into a residential street in Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 243 passengers, 16 crew and 11 residents. Lockerbie itself resembled a devastated war zone.
 
The series* starts with a group of passengers, mostly Americans, arriving at the check-in desk at Heathrow. The girl at the check-in says to a man dressed in a suit, “Have a good flight Mr. Ciulla, I see you are carrying a Christmas present.” The man responds, “Yes, I am going back to spend Christmas with my family.” Moments later Mr. Ciulla is seen boarding the aircraft carrying the present.
 
The scene brought back very sad and poignant memories for me. Frank Ciulla was the Chief Financial Officer of Chase Capital Markets in London and much liked and respected by all who knew and worked with him. That day there were few people in the office, as many had left for the Christmas holidays. I was having lunch with some friends at our canteen. Frank came and sat at the table next to us. I heard a colleague ask him with surprise, “How come you are still here, I thought you had left?” Frank explained he postponed his flight as he needed to complete the year- end accounts. His family had left earlier, and he was taking the next flight to New York to join them at their home in Park Ridge, NJ.
 
Tragically, Frank never got to deliver his present and see his family again. The plane had reached a height of approximately 31,000 feet (9,500 meters) and was preparing for the oceanic portion of the flight when a timer-activated bomb detonated. The blast broke the plane into thousands of pieces that landed in an area covering roughly 850 square miles. The community of Lockerbie was  known to have done everything possible to treat the victims with great care and respect, collecting all the passenger belongings among the debris and meticulously logging the items with passenger names against them where possible. They then arranged to return the items to their next of kin. 
 
Frank’s body came to rest on Hugh and Margaret Connell's land, Minsca Farm. In the television series, two ladies from Lockerbie meet an American women who had come to see the final resting place of her beloved husband. They explain to her that when they found Frank in the field on his own, he appeared as if he was sleeping peacefully. They stayed with him for more than four hours until the rescue services were able to retrieve the body, as they did not want him to be on his own.
 
 A biographical sketch of the man who was our colleague and Chief Financial Officer reads: “Frank was admired for his honesty and candor, his understanding of people, and his ability to make them laugh. He was adventurous and lively; a business and sports enthusiast who was aggressive and competitive in a positive way. Frank demonstrated strength of character and confidence in himself that allowed him not only to succeed in life, but to enjoy it as well.” 
 
At Chase, we were all overcome with grief and always remember Frank with great fondness. His stint in Europe was due to end in 1989. He was 45 years old when he died.
 
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NOTE: Ciulla's family has been outspoken in its criticism of the mini-series. Frank's daughter, Michelle Ciulla Lipkin, a spokesperson for the Victims of Pan Am Flight 103 group, said that the series "needlessly sensationalized the deadly airplane bombing".
 
For more about Frank Ciulla on our website, see Bankers in Danger.
 
To learn more about him, see his page on the Pan Am 103 Lockerbie Legacy Foundation website.
 

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* Lockerbie: A Search for Truth, a 5-part series starring Colin Firth, is available in the UK on Sky Atlantic and Now and in the USA on Peacock.
 
Send comments or your own idea for an "A  Moment in Bank History" story to Andrea at news@chasealum.org.