A litter picker was left scratching her head after discovering a pair of vintage headphones during a clean-up in County Durham. Rebecca, the founder of the Eaglescliffe Community Litter Project near Stockton-on-Tees, often shares intriguing finds on social media from her rubbish-collecting exploits.
Typically, she comes across items like decades-old crisp packets or carrier bags from defunct shops, but one discovery has caught the attention of over 1.5 million viewers. Amid the usual litter, Rebecca found a muddy pair of airline headphones, sparking a flurry of speculation among TikTok users about their origins.
“Vintage Pan Am headphones found on today’s litter pick,” Rebecca wrote in the video caption. She added to the intrigue by noting: “How old are they? No idea. But Pan American ceased flying in December 1991. This is definitely one of the most random things I have ever found litter picking!”
Pan American, established in 1927, was once the United States’ premier international airline and operated out of London Heathrow in the UK. Some of Rebecca’s followers suggested the headphones might be linked to the tragic 1988 Lockerbie bombing, where a Pan American flight from Frankfurt to Detroit exploded over the Scottish town, resulting in the deaths of all 259 people on board and 11 local residents.
“Pan Am Flight 103 December 21, 1988,” one person said. “The aircraft disintegrated in mid-air, scattering debris over a wide area, with some wreckage reportedly found as far as far as the east coast of England.”
A second agreed, adding: “Lockerbie disaster… debris field was up to 845 square miles. Could definitely be from that.” Meanwhile, a third person concurred: “Lockerbie wreckage probably.”
Rebecca admitted in response: “I never even thought of this until someone else commented. Makes me sad. I really hope it isn’t. I’m quite a long way away.”
However, others dismissed the theory, with one individual explaining: “Stockton On Tees wasn’t in the flight path of doomed Lockerbie flight, so this can’t be from that flight. It took the Daventry departure i believe. These are probably trash from house clearance.”
Another agreed: “Why do you all think that this is from a plane crash? You can buy those headphones all over the internet. A lot of people Worked for Pan Am. 1,000 other possibilities how they ended up there.”
A third declared: “Eaglescliffe is way to far away from Lockerbie. Only light stuff i.e. paper, insulation made any distance. This is from something else.”
While a fourth TikTok user revealed: “I haven’t seen those headphones since the 80s. My uncle use to work at JFK refuelling commercial airplanes and use to bring home complimentary items Pan Am gave its passengers.”