PEGGY'S COVE SWISSAIR III MEMORIAL SITE
She's Called Nova Scotia- Rita MacNeil
------------------
September 2, 1998 –
Swissair Flight 111 crashes near Peggys Cove, Nova Scotia. All 229 people on
board are killed.
The names of the crash victims
Zurich,
September 4, 1998, 02:00 CET - The crash of Swissair flight SR111 near Halifax
cost the lives of all 215 passengers and 14 crew members aboard.
Swissair's special assistance team has been able to notify almost all of
the victims' families regarding this tragic accident.
Swissair's
management and personnel are shocked and deeply saddened at this tragic loss.
The company wishes to express its sincerest condolences to the families and
friends of the victims. A list of names of the victims whose next of kin have
been notified can be found below.
ABADY
GEORGE -- ABERY KEITH-- ABOUTAAM SLEIMAN-- ABOUTAAM SUAD-- ACEVEDO INGRID--
AELLEN PIERRE-ANDRE-- ALBERTSEN ELSE-- ALBERTSEN TORKILD-- ALLEAUME BRUNO--
ALSAUD BANDAR-- AMPOSTA M.-- BABOLAT PIERRE-- BACONNIER PASCAL-- BAEUMER
LUDWIG-- BALL EUDYCE-- BALL MARTIN-- BELL PATRICK-W.-- BENJAMIN JESSE-JAMES--
BENJAMIN STACEY-- BENJAMIN WAHKYN-- BENJAMIN WHITNEY GINGER-- BILGER JOACHIM--
BITTENBINDER SUZANNE-- BOLSTERLI ANDREW-- BOUCHOUT GEOFFROY-- BOURE FAYE--
BOURE ROSLINE-- BOVE JANE-- BURCKHARD ERICH-- BURGHARDT SUSAN-- BURRUS
DOMINIQUE-- BURRUS THIERRY-- CALVETMASSY C.-- CAPPOLA MAXINE-- CARIPIDES
GABRIELA-- CARIPIDES PETER-- CARIPIDES WILLIAM-- CEGAR NATASA-- CHAPMAN
CAULEY-- CHAPMAN MARK-- CHATELAIN ODETTE-- CHATELAIN RAOUL-- CHEVEY NATHALIE--
CHEVEY NICOLAS-- CLEMENTSMANN MARYLOU-- COBURN RICHARD-- COLINBARRAND THIERRY--
COLMERY BARRY-- COLMERY JULIE-- DANON ALBERT-- DEGRAEF MAARTEN-- DEMEIRE JANA--
DEPLEDGE CAROLINE-- DEPLEDGE JANE-- DEPLEDGE MICHEAL-- DEPLEDGE NORMAN--
DEROUSSAN YVES-- DIBA MAHMOOD-- DITCHKUS L.-- DITCHKUS M.-- DOMINIGUE KAREN--
DONALDSON RHONDA-- DUMITRU C.-- EZELL PATRICIA-- FETHEROLF TARA-- FINE
DOUGLAS-- FREVIER MARYVONNE-- FROGHI FUHRMANN WILLIAM-- GAMBONE DEBORAH--
GAMBONE MICHAEL-- GARBOUDES AMANDA-- GARBOUDES CHRISTINE-- GARBOUDES HERVE--
GARBOUDES TRISTAN-- GERETY PIERCE-- HAMMOND JOAN-- HAMMOND PAUL-- HASTIE
CHERIEM-- HAUSMAN THOMAS-- HEWSON ROBERTE-- HOCHE GABRIEL-- HOOTSEV ANDREW--
HOEL ANNE-SOPHIE-- HOEL FRANCOIS-- HOEL MARIE-FRANCOISE-- HOEL OLIVIA-- HOEL
PAUL-EDOUARD-- HOPCRAFT PAULINE-- HOPCRAFT LAWRENCE-- ICONOMOPOULOU CH--
JACKMAN OLIVIER-- JASAN JAY-- JEGGE EVELYN-- JEGGE ISABELLE-- JHURANI SOMESH--
JUNOD MARYLINE-- KAISER MARINA-- KARAMANOUKIAN SERGE-- KASSEL JAMES-T.--
KEFALIDIS N.-- KIEF KEVIN-- KINDERGEIGER KLAUS-- KITSINGER ERIC-- KLEIN
STANLEY-- KLEINMAN KAREN-- KLEINMAN LEONARD-- KOHLER STEPHANE-- KOKORUDA JEAN--
KOKORUDA ROBERT-- KREIS THOMAS-- KRETSCHMER HEIDI-- LAMOTTA JOSEPH-- LAMPIETTI
DARIO-- LATTIMER DON-- LATTIMER NANCY-- LEMAITRE ANNE-LAURE-- LESAICHOT JEAN-LUC--
LEVY RONNY-M.-- LIBRETT JEFFREY M.-- LUCAS ANNAB.-- LUCAS JAMES-N.-- MAILLET
DENIS-- MAILLET ROBERT-- MAKAREVITCH MANUEL-- MALLIN GILDA-- MALLIN RALPH--
MANN JONATHAN-- MARTIN JOSEPH-- MEHRARABANSAMIT ELAHAH-- MENDO C.-- MILNE
ALMA-- MILNE ROBERT-- MIRALAI ASTRID-- MIRALAI CHANTAL-- MIRALAI HOUCHANG--
MOLINIER FRANCOISE-- MOLINIER JEAN-PHILIPPE-- MONAY N.-- MORERO JP.-- MORERO
M.-- MORTIMER HILDA-B.-- MORTIMER JOHN-H.-- MOSER JULIE-- MOZES JEAN-MAX--
MUNARI JAQUES-- NAPOLI PHYLLIS-- NAVARRO YOLANDA-- NELSON TARA-- NEUWEILER
ADRIENNE-- NEUWEILER JOHN-- NOCETO BETTY-- NOCETO CLAUDE-- OGARA WILLIAM--
OMRAN A.-- PEREAU CLELIA-- PEREAU JEAN-LOUIS-- PEREAU JOELLE-- PEREAU SYLVIE--
PEREAU YVES-- PERROUD E.-- PINOESCH SKER-- PLUMLEIGH CHARLOTTE-- PLUMLEIGH GLEN--
RAPPAZ M.CECILE-- RAPPAZ MICHEL-- RATNAVALE J.-- RATNAVALE V.-- RICHARD
KARINE-- RIZZA A.-- RIZZA VICTOR-- ROMANO RAYMOND-- ROSSI MAURIZIO--
SALAKHOUTDINOVA E.-- SALAMA MAGDA-- SANNA NINO-- SAUGY CRYSTEL-- SCARBORO A.--
SCOTT MATTHEW-- SCOULAR N.-- SEQUI S.-- SHAW STEPHANIE-- SHEER DIANE-- SHEER
DONALD-- SHUSTER STEPHANIE-- SMITH CAROLINE-- SPANNE PER-- SPANOPOULOU
EUGENIA-- SPANOPOULOU HODTSEV-PLATO-- SPERBER JULIE-- SPERBER THOMAS-- SPRINGER
HLLOYD-- SPRINGER JUDITH-- STAUFFER PETER-- STAUTER ROBERT-- TAHMOUSH ALBERT--
TAHMOUSH ODETTE-- THIOUDELLET ALEXANDRE-- THIOUDELLET EMMANUEL-- THOMPSON
ERNEST-- THORENS SEBASTIEN-- TOMOV NENAD-- TOPFGIBSON NANCY-- TSOLLIS
CHRISTOS-- TZAMARIOUDAKI MARIA-- VILLET VINCENT-- WHITE ROWENNALLEE-- WILCOX
ALEX-- WILCOX PETRA-- WILKINS MONTE-- WILLIAMS ROGER-- WILSON JONATHAN-- ZENIOS
MARINO
213 OF
TOTAL 215
Crew
(complete): Zimmermann Urs-- Loew Stephan-- Oberhänsli René-- Pazeller
Seraina-- Schwab Peter-- Pompili Jeannine-- Wiprächtiger Brigit-- Birkle
Raphael-- Betrisey Irene-- Castioni Anne-E.-- Furter Colette-- Zuber Florence--
Eberhart Patricia-- Reutemann Regula--
-----
PROVINCE OF NOVA SCOTIA- CANADA
News › N.S. Efforts in Swissair Crash
Aftermath
N.S. Efforts in Swissair
Crash Aftermath
Communications Nova Scotia
September
3, 1998 11:55 AM
Nova
Scotia will spare no effort in supporting the family and
friends of the passengers and crew of Swissair Flight 111,
Premier Russell MacLellan said today.
"This province will open its doors and its arms to those who lost
loved ones, many of whom will be coming to Nova Scotia in the
hours and days ahead," said the premier.
He said he has instructed the provincial government to provide
whatever assistance family and friends require while in the
province.
Overnight, as the scope of the tragedy became apparent, staff at
Halifax Tourism began contacting hotels in the Halifax area for
rooms to accommodate victims' families and airline officials.
Halifax Tourism is arranging for up to 900 hotel rooms to be
held, said David Oxner, executive director of Tourism Nova
Scotia. Another 40 rooms are required by Transport Canada
investigators.
Mr. Oxner said Tourism Nova Scotia has advised visitor
information centres provincewide that Peggy's Cove will be closed
to visitors until further notice.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Nova Scotians continue recovery efforts
along the coastline and in the water off Peggy's Cove where
Swissair Flight 111 went down late Wednesday.
Environment Department staff are at the site to assist where
needed. Inspectors have already begun conducting sweeps of the
shoreline to assess cleanup requirements. Officials believe about
200 tonnes of jet fuel were dumped into St. Margarets Bay as the
pilot prepared to attempt an emergency landing.
"This is a monumental tragedy we're dealing with here," said
Environment Minister Don Downe. "We have to express our gratitude
and thanks to countless Nova Scotians, many of them volunteers
who have come to help."
Mr. Downe said people have been bringing food and blankets to
emergency workers; some have offered their homes as places to
rest. Churches in the area have opened their doors to comfort the
grieving.
Government staff are also working with military personnel at
Canadian Forces Base Shearwater to set up a temporary morgue.
Natural Resources transported 150 stretchers to the base this
morning. Workers from Transportation and Public Works have
constructed autopsy rooms.
At the Health Department, senior officials continued to monitor
the situation and provide assistance where required. As of this
morning, one ambulance and a paramedics team remained at Peggy's
Cove.
After an RCMP report of the crash came into the Emergency Health
Services dispatch centre at 10:39 p.m. Wednesday, 21 emergency
units were ordered to respond. The units came from the Halifax
area, the South Shore and the Annapolis Valley.
The province's air ambulance was activated and flew to a field
near the crash site. By 11:15 p.m., the Queen Elizabeth II Health
Sciences Centre in Halifax was on emergency alert, and Dartmouth
General, South Shore Regional and IWK-Grace hospitals were
informed of the situation.
At about 3:30 a.m., as it became less likely that survivors would
be found, the hospital's emergency alert was cancelled and
Emergency Health Services units also stood down.
-30-
NOTE TO NEWS EDITORS/DIRECTORS: Information regarding visitor
support will be updated as arrangements are made. If you require
any additional information contact Jim Vibert at 902-424-4886 or
Maggie Marwah at 902-424-2878. Please do not call Halifax
Tourism.
ngr Sept. 3, 1998 11:55 a.m.
friends of the passengers and crew of Swissair Flight 111,
Premier Russell MacLellan said today.
"This province will open its doors and its arms to those who lost
loved ones, many of whom will be coming to Nova Scotia in the
hours and days ahead," said the premier.
He said he has instructed the provincial government to provide
whatever assistance family and friends require while in the
province.
Overnight, as the scope of the tragedy became apparent, staff at
Halifax Tourism began contacting hotels in the Halifax area for
rooms to accommodate victims' families and airline officials.
Halifax Tourism is arranging for up to 900 hotel rooms to be
held, said David Oxner, executive director of Tourism Nova
Scotia. Another 40 rooms are required by Transport Canada
investigators.
Mr. Oxner said Tourism Nova Scotia has advised visitor
information centres provincewide that Peggy's Cove will be closed
to visitors until further notice.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Nova Scotians continue recovery efforts
along the coastline and in the water off Peggy's Cove where
Swissair Flight 111 went down late Wednesday.
Environment Department staff are at the site to assist where
needed. Inspectors have already begun conducting sweeps of the
shoreline to assess cleanup requirements. Officials believe about
200 tonnes of jet fuel were dumped into St. Margarets Bay as the
pilot prepared to attempt an emergency landing.
"This is a monumental tragedy we're dealing with here," said
Environment Minister Don Downe. "We have to express our gratitude
and thanks to countless Nova Scotians, many of them volunteers
who have come to help."
Mr. Downe said people have been bringing food and blankets to
emergency workers; some have offered their homes as places to
rest. Churches in the area have opened their doors to comfort the
grieving.
Government staff are also working with military personnel at
Canadian Forces Base Shearwater to set up a temporary morgue.
Natural Resources transported 150 stretchers to the base this
morning. Workers from Transportation and Public Works have
constructed autopsy rooms.
At the Health Department, senior officials continued to monitor
the situation and provide assistance where required. As of this
morning, one ambulance and a paramedics team remained at Peggy's
Cove.
After an RCMP report of the crash came into the Emergency Health
Services dispatch centre at 10:39 p.m. Wednesday, 21 emergency
units were ordered to respond. The units came from the Halifax
area, the South Shore and the Annapolis Valley.
The province's air ambulance was activated and flew to a field
near the crash site. By 11:15 p.m., the Queen Elizabeth II Health
Sciences Centre in Halifax was on emergency alert, and Dartmouth
General, South Shore Regional and IWK-Grace hospitals were
informed of the situation.
At about 3:30 a.m., as it became less likely that survivors would
be found, the hospital's emergency alert was cancelled and
Emergency Health Services units also stood down.
-30-
NOTE TO NEWS EDITORS/DIRECTORS: Information regarding visitor
support will be updated as arrangements are made. If you require
any additional information contact Jim Vibert at 902-424-4886 or
Maggie Marwah at 902-424-2878. Please do not call Halifax
Tourism.
ngr Sept. 3, 1998 11:55 a.m.
http://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=19980903002
------------
R.E.M. EVERYBODY HURTS-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoG2i_h420A
----------
Statement of Walter Vollenweider Vice
President North and South America Swissair
On
September 2, Swissair's MD-11 flight from JFK to Geneva went down over Nova
Scotia. Swissair departed on time at 8:18 PM from JFK and was scheduled to arrive at 9:30 am in Geneva.
There were 215 passengers and 14 crew
members on board. We have set up a toll free inquiry number for family and
friends, which is 1 800 801 0088.
We
regret this tragic accident and our thoughts and prayers go out to the family
and friends of those on board. We are giving our full cooperation and working
with authorities at this time and would also like to thank the Canadian
government and private citizens for their efforts and aide.
Our
first priorities are our passengers, our crew and their families.
---------------------------------------------------------------
UN Officials Among Dead in Swissair Crash
GENEVA,
(Reuters) - Staff members from at least three United Nations agencies in Geneva
were among the 229 dead in the crash of a Swissair jet off Canada on a flight known as ``the
U.N. shuttle,'' U.N. officials said
Thursday.
Also on the McDonald Douglas MD-11 airliner was Jonathan Mann,
renowned American expert on AIDS who once headed the World Health
Organization's fight against the disease, and his wife, a WHO spokesman told
Reuters
Timeline: Swissair 111
crash investigation
CBC
News Posted: Sep 14, 2011 8:11 PM ET Last Updated: Sep 15, 2011 12:10 PM ET
Related Stories
- CBC
ARCHIVES: Swissair 111 crashes off Nova Scotia
- Swissair
crash may not have been an accident: ex-RCMP
- Aviation
industry slow to act on Swissair safety issues, investigators say
- Last
minutes of Swissair crash released on tapes
- CBC NEWS INVESTIGATION: Secret
Skies
External Links
(Note:
CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external links.)
On the
night of Sept. 2, 1998, Swissair Flight 111 was following its regular course from
New York to Geneva. As it flew near the Nova Scotia coast, the cockpit filled
with smoke.
The
pilots put on emergency masks and manoeuvred the plane to dump fuel into the
Atlantic Ocean in preparation for an emergency landing in Halifax. They never
made it. As they circled, the Boeing MD-11 plunged into the ocean off Peggys
Cove. All 229 people aboard the plane died.
The
recovery effort was massive and involved official agencies and an
outpouring of aid from local communities and volunteers. By Oct. 2, more
than 3,000 people had become involved in the effort, including representatives
from the Canadian Forces, the Canadian Coast Guard, the RCMP and the
United States Navy.
Lost
cargo from the flight included currency, diamonds, jewelry and Pablo Picasso's The
Painter. At the time, the painting's value was estimated at $1.5 million.
Timeline of the investigation
Sept. 2,
1998
10:10
p.m. AT
The flight crew of Flight 111 detects an unusual odour in the cockpit.
10:12
p.m. There's
no unusual smoke in the cabin, and the crew suspects the smell is coming from
the air conditioning system. A decision is made to divert and land the plane,
possibly in Bangor, Me., or Boston, Mass.
10:14 p.m. Smoke is visible in the cockpit
and Flight 111 declares Pan Pan Pan. That's an international signal indicating
a problem that's not yet an emergency. The pilot requests a diversion to
Boston.
10:16
p.m. The
flight crew puts on oxygen masks and the plane turns to land in Boston. The
pilot is then advised that Halifax would be a closer landing site, and the
plane heads in that direction.
10:21
p.m. Flight
111 informs Halifax's flight control centre it must dump fuel before landing.
The plane turns in preparation to do that.
10:24
p.m. The
pilot declares a state of emergency and takes manual control of the aircraft.
10:25
p.m. Halifax
loses contact with the plane.
Vic
Gerden, lead investigator into the crash of Swissair Flight 111 off Peggys
Cove, N.S., stands in front of the plane's cockpit at the reconstruction hangar
at CFB Shearwater on May 27, 1999. (Andrew Vaughan/Canadian Press)
10:31
p.m. Swissair
Flight 111 strikes the water nose first and almost upside down, killing all 229
onboard.
Key dates
Sept. 6,
1998
Divers
recover one flight data recorder in the Atlantic, nine kilometres from Peggys
Cove. They also locate three large pieces of the plane's fuselage.
Sept. 7,
1998
A
multinational team of investigators begins analyzing the recorder.
Sept. 9,
1998
A
memorial service for the 229 victims takes place near Peggys Cove, in Indian
Harbour.
Sept. 11,
1998
The
cockpit voice recorder is found 55 metres below the ocean surface. So far, four
victims have been identified from the recovered remains.
Sept. 29,
1998
Thirty-four
victims have been identified.
Oct. 1,
1998
U.S.
aviation officials raise questions about the type of insulation that was aboard
the plane.
Oct. 8,
1998
Officials
say all accessible human remains have been found and 78 victims identified.
Oct. 29,
1998
Swissair
decides to turn off individual in-flight entertainment systems on its MD-11s
and Boeing 747s based on preliminary investigations by the Transportation
Safety Board of Canada.
Dec. 22,
1998
TSB
issues an aviation safety advisory to the U.S. National Transportation
Safety Board, noting anomalies in cockpit wiring.
Feb. 1,
1999
The
Transportation Safety Board of Canada says it is more than $20 million over
budget because of the cost of the investigation.
Feb. 10,
1999
The chief
investigator says the Flight 111 fire extinguishers were either spent or partly
spent. However, he says it isn't known if their discharge happened before or
because of the crash.
March 1,
1999
Swissair
says it will compensate families of Europeans and Americans equally.
April 9,
1999
A family
member looks out towards the crash site at the Swissair Flight 111 memorial at
Bayswater Beach, N.S. on Sept. 2, 2008. (Andrew Vaughan/Canadian Press)
The Nova
Scotia government decides to commemorate the victims by erecting three
memorials outside Peggys Cove.
May 13,
1999
The Nova
Scotia government decides to bury the unidentified remains recovered after the
crash in a common grave overlooking the ocean in the community of Bayswater.
Family members are upset over this plan. The Nova Scotia medical examiner's
office had said many of the remains were difficult to identify because they
were so small.
Aug. 5,
1999
Swissair
and Boeing Co. accept liability and offer victims' families full compensation
damages. However, the airline and aircraft maker say they are not responsible
for the crash.
Sept.
1-3, 1999
Memorial
services are held near Peggys Cove to mark the first anniversary of the
accident. Family visits to the investigation site are organized as part of
services. Many families visit the plane reconstruction in CFB Shearwater
Hangar.
Sept. 2,
1999
One year
after the crash, investigators have pointed out some possible contributing
factors: wiring that chafes easily, and flammable insulation. Although nothing
has been proved at this point, safety officials have started making
preventative moves. The Transportation Safety Board plans to dredge the ocean
floor at the crash site. It hopes the key to uncovering the cause of the crash
can be found in the tiny pieces of plane still at the bottom of the sea.
Sept. 9,
1999
Swissair
launches a legal action against Interactive Flight Technologies Inc., the maker
of the entertainment system that was installed on Swissair's MD-11s.
At the
same time, the families reject Swissair's and Boeing Co.'s offer of full
compensatory damages. Families are seeking $16 billion US in damages from
Swissair and $3.8 billion US from DuPont Co., saying the metalized Mylar
covering the insulation in the plane helped spread the fire.
Dec. 15,
1999
Wreckage
recovery is complete. About 98 per cent of the aircraft, by weight, was
recovered.
May 25,
2000
The U.S.
Federal Aviation Administration issues final rules ordering operators of 719
MD-80, MD-88, MD-90, DC-10 and MD-11 aircraft to replace insulation blankets
covered with metalized Mylar, saying they are too flammable.
Aug. 30,
2000
Canada's
Transportation Safety Board releases a preliminary report, which chronicles the
events leading up to the fatal crash. The TSB says much of its investigation
has focused on where, why and how the fire started. The board says it picked up
more than two million pieces of wreckage, some as small as a $1 coin. A major
part of the investigation has been the examination, partial reconstruction and
documentation of aircraft debris at Canadian Forces Base Shearwater.
Visitors
view the Swissair Flight 111 memorial at Whalesback, near Peggys Cove, on Sept.
1, 2011. (Andrew Vaughan/Canadian Press)
Dec. 4,
2000
Canada's
Transportation Safety Board releases five safety recommendations. The board
wants potential fire hazard areas on aircraft identified so detection of a fire
can be improved. The report does not include any conclusions about the cause of
the crash.
Aug. 8,
2001
Investigators
focus on aisle lights as possible ignition sources. Investigators have found
more instances of overheating. In three other MD-11s, the aisle light bulb
temperature rose as high as 200 C. Additional testing showed that aisle light bulbs
on MD-11s can draw electric current levels 143 per cent higher than they were
built to withstand.
Aug. 28,
2001
The
Transportation Safety Board issues three recommendations to improve airline
safety.
- Toughen the flammability
standards for all materials used in airplanes. The emphasis until then had
been on walls and seat cushions.
- Create more stringent
certification standards for electrical wires. The board says standards
should include more realistic testing covering all the ways wires can
fail.
- Evaluate all systems in
terms of their impact on an in-flight fire. It says current systems can
aggravate fires, turning a minor scare into a full-blown tragedy.
Dec. 10,
2001
Transportation
officials call for an industry-wide review of the way emergency instruments are
displayed in airplane cockpits.
Jan. 14,
2003
A group
of families of Swissair victims plans to establish a scholarship fund for Nova
Scotia high school students, saying it's a way of repaying the province for its
generosity.
March 27,
2003
The Transportation
Safety Board issues its final report after a $57-million investigation,
attributing the crash to an in-flight fire caused by faulty wiring.
Investigators concluded that the flames fed off the surrounding flammable
thermal acoustic insulation materials called metallized polyethylene
terephthalate. The TSB made 23 recommendations based on its findings.
May 2007:
The
Swissair Flight 111 air traffic control tapes are released
to The Canadian Press after a court battle that went all the way to
the Supreme Court of Canada.
September
2008
Ten years
after the crash, 18 of
the 23 recommendations have an "active status," meaning the
board is still trying to solve a particular safety issue, and tracking
regulators and manufacturers that haven't followed its recommendations.
---------
Swissair Praised for Crash
Handling
CLARE NULLIS , Associated Press
Sep. 11, 1998 3:24 PM ET
GENEVA
(AP) _ When Flight 111 crashed into the northern Atlantic last week, Swissair
helped get journalists to the crash area, put its top executives on television
and made caring for victims' families a priority.
The
response contrasted with that of TWA two summers ago, when its Flight 800
crashed off Long Island. The American airline was criticized at the time for
being insensitive to families, for giving top priority to investigating a
terrorist attack and for being secretive with the press.
``Swissair
dealt with this much better than TWA,'' said Richard George of the New
York-based Public Relations Society of America.
The
airline made quick and open communications with the media a top priority _
second only to caring for relatives of the crash's 229 victims.
The
airline arranged for rapid transport, police protection and cash payments for
families wanting to grieve at the site of the accident near the Canadian
village of Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia.
But it
also chartered planes to ensure that journalists could reach the area and used
its public relations firm to help smooth things on the ground.
Swissair
and manufacturers Boeing have already been served with a $50 million lawsuit by
former boxing champion Jake LaMotta, who lost his son. The lawsuit claims the
companies should have known about wiring problems on the MD-11 aircraft _ a
possible cause of the accident _ and did little to correct them.
In any
case, Swissair is well insured. Investors are therefore not unduly worried and
the company's shares have remained relatively stable.
``The
fact they handled everything so professionally helped restore consumer and investor
confidence,'' said Janet Kinzler, European airline analyst at Credit Suisse
First Boston in London.
As soon
as news of the crash broke, the company's top management appeared on live news
conferences beamed around the world.
``We have
an emergency plan, of which communications are a very important part,'' said
Swissair spokesman Peter Gutknecht. ``The basis is to say everything we know as
quickly as possible, and only give out the facts.''
Jeffrey
Katz, the American CEO of Swissair, traveled to Halifax to be on the spot.
Philippe
Bruggisser, chief of the parent SAir Group, made repeated appearances on
television, wearing a black ribbon on his lapel and choking back his emotions.
At
Swissair's Zurich headquarters, 12 people worked around the clock in the press
department to field thousands of inquiries. In New York, the public relations
firm Hill & Knowlton helped with the overload of queries coming into
Swissair's U.S. offices. The firm has a regular contract with Swissair.
In recent
months, Swissair had trained more than 200 counselors to help relatives. The
effort was part of a family assistance plan submitted to U.S. authorities in
June to comply with legislation passed to correct the TWA mistakes.
----------------
Swissair
Flight 111 tragedy still raw 15 years later
Sept.
2, 2013 marks 15 years since Swissair Flight 111 crashed into the Atlantic,
killing all 229 on board
CBC
News Posted: Sep 02, 2013 9:57 AM AT Last Updated: Sep 02, 2013 5:09 PM AT
At 10:31 p.m. on Sept. 2, 1998, Nova Scotians near the coast felt their homes tremble as the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 passenger plane bound for Geneva, Switzerland smashed into the water a few kilometres off the shore of Peggys Cove.
Nancy Hausman travels all the way from Illinois nearly every year to pay her respects to her son Thomas. (CBC)
The flight took off from JFK airport and then began to fly over the Atlantic Ocean, but a little less than an hour into the flight the crew noticed smoke and issued the international urgency signal "pan pan pan."
They were cleared to proceed to the airport in Halifax but crashed in the relatively shallow water off Peggys Cove.
Nancy Hausman travels all the way from Illinois every year. She comes to pay her respects to her son Thomas, who was just 33 years old when he died.
His remains, along with those of many others who were aboard Swissair 111, are buried at a monument near Peggys Cove.
"It makes you feel, I think, a little bit better to be close to your relatives that you have lost and Tom is the first one," she said.
The
recovery effort retrieved 98 per cent of the aircraft which was then
painstakingly pieced back together to aid in the official investigation
of the crash. (CBC)
Though only four Canadians were killed on the flight, the crash of Swissair 111 had an enduring impact on Canada.
Local fishermen led the search for survivors, residents welcomed the victims' families and the names of the dead are etched in stone monuments at a seaside memorial.
The recovery effort, Operation Persistence, was massive. It retrieved 98 per cent of the aircraft and much of the 15 tonnes of cargo. That effort included use of a suction-dredge vessel, which also retrieved rocks and other objects that had been at ocean bottom.
After being brought to the surface, the pieces, which numbered about one million, went to a sorting facility in Sheet Harbour, N.S.
Lost cargo from the flight included currency, diamonds, jewelry and Pablo Picasso's The Painter. At the time, the painting's value was estimated at $1.5 million.
---------
edition.cnn.com/US/9809/14/briefs/swissair.contents.01/... Cached
...
dollars in cash and gold were aboard Swissair Flight 111, which
crashed into the ocean off of Nova Scotia this ... 1998
Names of Swissair crash victims ...
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UNITED
KINGDOM
Swissair
crash victims remembered
Victims
of the Swissair flight 111 crash were remembered by their friends and relatives
earlier today, precisely one decade after the tragedy took place. Swissair
crashed on September 2, 1998, near the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada. All 229
passengers and cabin crew on the plane died during the crash. A monument
already exists near Bayswater Beach, Nova Scotia, where the Swissair flight
went down, and approximately 100 people-including friends and relatives of the
deceased gathered there today, in order to take part in solemn commemoration.
Since the passengers on the plane represented a range of different religious
faiths and cultures, pastors and representatives of 17 different communities
all took part in the memorial, according to a CTV News report.
Swissair
flight 111 took off from New York City's JFK Airport on September 2, 1998.
Shortly after the departure, the flight's captain began to suspect that
something was wrong with the plane, as he detected the smell of smoke in the
cabin. The pilots sought the advice of air control officers and they were
ultimately told to land in Halifax, Nova Scotia, which was the closest major
airport. But the aircraft never made it to Halifax and an investigation proved
that an electrical fire began to spread through the cabin and the cockpit.
Despite these difficult odds, the pilots attempted an emergency landing,
ejecting excess fuel from the aircraft into the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. But
the plane crashed into the waters before it was able to land. The
Transportation Board of Canada spent four years investigating the crash, and
one of its main suggestions was that US air transport authorities inspect all
MD-11 aircraft, taking into consideration any potential wiring problems.
Thank
you to CTV News for the initial report.
---
NEW YORK-
FLIGHT 111 VICTIMS
REMEMBERED
NEW YORK
DAILY NEWS
Saturday,
September 12, 1998, 12:00 AM
With
tears, white roses and a United Nations flag, New York remembered the 229
victims of Swissair Flight 111 at two emotional gatherings yesterday. At the UN
Secretariat building, Secretary General Kofi Annan presented commemorative
flags to the relatives of the eight officials of the UN and affiliated agencies
who perished when the MD-11 airliner went into the sea off Nova Scotia Sept. 2.
At Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall, Mayor Giuliani and other city officials
joined 1,300 of the victims' family members and friends, each holding a white
rose, for a tearful hour-long service. Reporters and photographers were not
invited to attend the Lincoln Center service, but mourners later described a
scene where 229 lighted candles were placed on the stage, and victims' loved
ones placed memorabilia in a basket. "It was about healing," said
Judith Holder, a Delta Air Lines flight attendant. "It was a launching for
family members to get on with their lives. . . . It was a beautiful, tasteful
service.
" A
eulogy was delivered by Colin Brown, who lost his mother and his fiance in the
crash, and who spoke as a representative of the families of Flight 111.
"Chills were running through me," said Lisa Polese, 17, as she left
the service. " I can't imagine what they are going through. It just makes
you think how everything can be over so fast.
"
Though he did not lose anyone in the crash, one Delta employee leaving the
service said, "We felt very much a part of it, dealing with the families
and trying to help them. You feel the heart of their grief. Even though we
cannot do anything to bring the families back . . . , we are here to ease their
pain.
" In
an address, Adolf Ogi, Switzerland's federal counselor, thanked New York City
for caring for victims' relatives immediately after the crash. Ogi thanked
Giuliani "for making it his own personal loss," one mourner said.
UNITED KINGDOM
Victims of the Swissair flight 111 crash
were remembered by their friends and relatives earlier today, precisely one
decade after the tragedy took place. Swissair crashed on September 2, 1998,
near the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada. All 229 passengers and cabin crew on the
plane died during the crash. A monument already exists near Bayswater Beach,
Nova Scotia, where the Swissair flight went down, and approximately 100
people-including friends and relatives of the deceased gathered there today, in
order to take part in solemn commemoration. Since the passengers on the plane
represented a range of different religious faiths and cultures, pastors and
representatives of 17 different communities all took part in the memorial, according
to a CTV News report.
Swissair flight 111 took off from New
York City’s JFK Airport on September 2, 1998. Shortly after the departure, the
flight’s captain began to suspect that something was wrong with the plane, as
he detected the smell of smoke in the cabin. The pilots sought the advice of
air control officers and they were ultimately told to land in Halifax, Nova
Scotia, which was the closest major airport. But the aircraft never made it to
Halifax and an investigation proved that an electrical fire began to spread
through the cabin and the cockpit. Despite these difficult odds, the pilots
attempted an emergency landing, ejecting excess fuel from the aircraft into the
waters of the Atlantic Ocean. But the plane crashed into the waters before it
was able to land. The Transportation Board of Canada spent four years
investigating the crash, and one of its main suggestions was that US air
transport authorities inspect all MD-11 aircraft, taking into consideration any
potential wiring problems.
Thank you to CTV News for the initial
report.
---
Thursday September 3 9:25 PM EDT 1998
229
Killed in Canada Swissair Crash
DAVID
CRARY Associated Press Writer
PEGGY'S
COVE, Nova Scotia (AP) - The 229 people aboard Swissair Flight 111 had time to
prepare for the worst while the pilots struggled vainly to keep the smoking,
groaning jetliner aloft long enough for an emergency landing.
Some
passengers donned their life vests during the several minutes before the MD-11
jumbo jet crashed and broke apart Wednesday night in choppy seas off Nova
Scotia, Swissair officials said Thursday. The plane, which carried 137
Americans, left a slick of jet fuel, floating luggage and human remains, but no
survivors.
``When
you saw how small the pieces of fragments were, you could tell it must have
been a pretty horrific crash,'' said Jim Buckley, skipper of a whaling boat
that joined a makeshift flotilla that fruitlessly searched for people to
rescue. The cause of the crash was not known.
By
nightfall Thursday, authorities said about 60 bodies had been recovered, as
well as an array of aircraft parts. But Lt. Commander Jacques Fauteux, one of
the search coordinators, said none of the pieces was larger than an automobile.
Fauteux
said more than 1,000 people were still involved in the search.
Aboard
the jet flown by one of the world's safest airlines were 14 crew members and
215 passengers. There were two infants, several United Nations employees and
one of the foremost leaders in the global fight against AIDS, Dr. Jonathan
Mann.
The
Geneva-bound plane departed New York's Kennedy International Airport at 8:18
p.m. EDT Wednesday and crashed 90 minutes later, at 9:48 p.m. EDT near Halifax,
the capital of Nova Scotia, Swissair spokesman Jean-Claude Donzel said.
Sixteen
minutes passed between the crew's first report of trouble - including smoke in
the cockpit, in Canadian airspace at 33,000 feet - and the plane's
disappearance from radar scopes at about 8,000 feet, according to Roy Bears of
the Canadian Transportation Safety Board.
Five
minutes after the aircraft crew reported the smoke and headed toward Halifax,
they began descending to dump fuel, said Tony Rushton, vice president of the
Canadian air traffic controllers' union.
In
another five minutes the crew declared an emergency, and just moments later,
the aircraft's transponder, which automatically transmits its identity and
altitude, stopped functioning, he said.
Controllers
could still monitor the plane on radar until all contact was finally lost.
The
pilot, Urs Zimmermann, 50, tried to coax the plane to an emergency landing at
the Halifax airport, 35 miles from the crash site. The pilot initially proposed
heading for Boston, but air traffic controllers pointed out Halifax was closer
- 42 miles compared to 192 miles.
Swissair
said the plane was seven to 10 minutes away from the Halifax airport, when it
plunged into waters about 150 feet deep.
Canadian
experts are leading the investigation into what caused the crash.
The
National Transportation Safety Board in Washington sent 10 experts to Canada
and experts from Switzerland also were deployed.
Canadian
officials and the White House said there was no indication the crash resulted
from a terrorist act. The Canadians said their intelligence services were in
contact with the FBI nonetheless.
FBI
Director Louis Freeh said his agents were examining the passenger list and
working to ensure key evidence was properly preserved.
``We
don't have any indication at this point what caused that tragedy,'' Freeh said.
In
towns along the scenic but often treacherous Nova Scotia coast, residents
reported hearing sputtering noises from an aircraft passing overhead, then a
thundering crash.
``The
motors were still going, but it was the worst-sounding deep groan that I've
ever heard,'' said Claudia Zinck-Gilroy.
Dozens
of fishing boats and coast guard ships hurried to the crash site, about six
miles off the coast of Peggy's Cove. The picturesque fishing village -
population 60 - is popular with tourists for its pirate lore and
much-photographed lighthouse, but the area also is known for shipwrecks and
other maritime tragedies.
After
the first few hours of the nightlong search, the mood among boat crews turned
grim when reports of survivors proved false. Instead, boat after boat radioed
to a naval command vessel that more body bags were needed to cradle human remains
scattered among aircraft debris over several square miles of the Atlantic.
Searchlights
from boats, helicopters and planes illuminated the area during the night. Heavy
surf - a remnant of Hurricane Danielle - hampered the first hours of the rescue
effort and rain fell until dawn.
``It's
real ugly,'' said Craig Sanford, operator of a whale-watching boat that was one
of the first vessels on the scene. ``You see Styrofoam floating, chunks of
wood, panels, the odd body here and there. It's not a nice scene.'' Weather
cleared during the day, and the sea settled into rolling swells.
Body
parts, a child's dark blue sweater, a page from a math textbook and a leather
purse drifted in the inky blue water.
The
first three dozen bodies recovered were taken to a temporary morgue at the
Canadian Forces Base Shearwater, 30 miles to the east. Twenty doctors,
including dentists and pathologists, worked to identify remains.
Searchers
said they had located a chunk of the plane's fuselage believed to be intact on
the ocean floor. Divers planned to search for the flight recorders, which could
help determine the cause of the disaster.
Swissair
and its partner, Delta Airlines, were flying relatives from New York and
Switzerland to Halifax. Nova Scotia officials offered to provide 900 hotel
rooms for the families, and pledged to protect their privacy as they faced the
grim chore of identifying loved ones.
Swissair
said the passenger list would not be released until family members are
notified. In addition to the 136 American passengers and an American crew
member, it said 39 Swiss nationals and 30 French citizens were killed.
Others
were from Britain, Canada, Germany, Italy, Greece, Saudi Arabia, Yugoslavia,
Afghanistan, Iran, Spain, St. Kitts and Russia.
The
United Nations confirmed that seven U.N. workers returning to offices in Geneva
and the wife of one of the officials were on board.
``Any
one of us could have been on that plane,'' U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said in
New York. ``It's a flight we take frequently.''
All
185 national flags outside U.N. headquarters were lowered to half-staff in
mourning, he said, and a staff memorial service was planned. An impromptu
memorial service was also held in a downtown Geneva church late Thursday.
It was
the first fatal crash of a Swissair plane since Oct. 7, 1979, when one of its
DC-8s overshot the runway in Athens, Greece, and burst into flames. Fourteen
people were killed.
Swissair
will check its 15 remaining MD-11s in the wake of Wednesday's crash, SAirGroup
CEO Philippe Bruggisser said. He said the fleet will be brought back into
service once it is established there are no technical problems - a process could
take days or months, depending on what investigators discover.
The
plane that crashed Wednesday was put into service in August 1991 and was
overhauled a year ago, Swissair said. Boeing spokesman Russ Young said it had
completed more than 6,000 flights and 35,000 flight hours.
The
McDonnell Douglas MD-11 is a jet known for its reliability, even though its
manufacturer, Boeing, has announced plans to discontinue the model in the year
2000.
-----------
Headline News:
No
Survivors in Swissair Crash
Swissair
says none of the 229 people aboard Flight 111 survived a crash off the coast of
Nova Scotia Wednesday night after its pilot reported smoke in the cockpit and
attempted an emergency landing at Halifax International Airport.
Gruesome
Rescue Effort Proceeds
A
quiet night on Peggys Cove turned violent and deadly when Swissair Flight 111
went down. This morning’s dawn brings the aftermath: local fishermen retrieving
bodies, and medics waiting in vain for anyone to try to save.
----------------
Farewell
To Nova Scotia: Harmodion Accordion, Chordophonet Virtual Harp, Syntheway
Strings, Flute
--------------
OUR BROKEN HEARTS
A
fisherman searches the water for debris from the crash of Swissair Flight 111
in September
The Federal Aviation Administration recommended that the insulation on almost all of the world's 12,000 passenger jets be replaced as soon as possible because new tests are likely to find that it can catch fire when exposed to high heat.
Swissair Probe Focuses on Insulation Thursday, October 1, 1998
Investigators probing the wreckage of Swissair Flight 111 have found pieces of a type of thermal and sound insulation that has been implicated in the rapid spread of fires on at least four other jetliners, sources close to the investigation said.
Jet's Cockpit Suffered Heat Damage Wednesday, September 9, 1998
Heat from an unknown source damaged parts of Swissair Flight 111's cockpit, and some of the jumbo jet's systems were deteriorating even as the crew struggled to save the aircraft before it plunged into the North Atlantic, investigators said.
Pilot: 'We Have to Land Immediately' Sunday, September 6, 1998
After the pilot told air traffic controllers that "we have to land immediately," Swissair Flight 111 went silent and began a five- to six-minute, 9,700-foot death spiral into the Atlantic Ocean, according to preliminary radio and radar data.
Swissair Flight 111's Sad Harvest Friday, September 4, 1998
All 229 passengers and crew aboard Swissair Flight 111 died when the plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off the Nova Scotia coast, authorities said, as the search for survivors turned into a sad harvest of human remains.
Swissair Jet Crashes Off Nova Scotia Thursday, September 3 1998
A Swissair jumbo jet en route from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York to Geneva with 229 people on board crashed off the southern coast of Nova Scotia late last night while trying to make an emergency landing, the Canadian coast guard said.
-------------
Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia
---------------
TOTAL
ECLIPSE.... ponderings...musings...the usual.... however this site was kind enough 2 allow us the names of each passenger and crew... thank u 4 that...
9 + 2 + 1998 = 38
3+8 = 11
The plane was Model MD-11
229 persons were aboard the flight
137 were Americans 92 were non-Americans
1 + 3 + 7 = 11
9 + 2 = 11
11:11 is the moment of the
Diamond Ring Effect of the full Solar Eclipse on Aug. 11, 1999
1998 divided by 3 = 666
666 is The Number of the Beast The Demon of the Sun
1 + 9 + 9 + 8 = 27
2 + 7 = 9 9 is the end of the time cycle |
IS THIS A SYNCHRONOUS - METAPHORIC EVENT?
COMPARISON TO THE PATH OF THE ECLIPSE
ON AUGUST 11, 1999 AT 11:11 A.M.
 |
 |
SWISS AIR FLIGHT PATH
|
PATH OF ECLIPSE - AUG. 11, 1999 AT 11:11 A.M. |
|
 |
SOLAR ECLIPSE - 1999
by Joe Mason |
ECLIPSE FLIGHT PATH OVER ENGLAND |
Headline News:
No Survivors in Swissair Crash
Swissair says none of the 229 people aboard Flight 111 survived a crash off
the coast of Nova Scotia Wednesday night after its pilot reported smoke in
the cockpit and attempted an emergency landing at Halifax International Airport.
Gruesome Rescue Effort Proceeds
A quiet night on Peggys Cove turned violent and deadly when Swissair Flight 111 went down. This morning’s dawn brings the aftermath: local fishermen retrieving bodies, and medics waiting in vain for anyone to try to save.
Families of Swissair
victims begin sad pilgrimage
|
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|
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In this
story:
PEGGY'S
COVE, Nova Scotia (CNN) -- Family members of victims of Swissair Flight 111
stood in the fog on a remote Nova Scotia shore Friday afternoon, looking out
over the rough seas of the North Atlantic where their loved ones perished in a
fateful instant.
The first
six of the more than 100 family members flown to Halifax from both Geneva and
New York made a sad pilgrimage to Peggy's Cove, the fishing village near where
the plane crashed Wednesday night, killing the 229 people on board.
More
mourners were expected to be bused to the site Saturday from Halifax.
Canadian
authorities were doing their best to shield family members from the news media.
Green army tents were set up along the shore, overlooking the ocean, to give
relatives privacy, and police warned reporters to keep their distance.
"If
anyone forces themselves on family members, it won't be tolerated," said
Staff Sgt. Keith McGuire of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Swissair
officials and family members, most dressed in black, boarded charter flights in
New York and Geneva. Airline officials said about 300 people were on the flights.
About 100
to 150 of those aboard the charters were believed to be family members. The
remainder were grief counselors on hand to help the families and airline
personnel, who will assist in the crash's recovery effort.
The
province of Nova Scotia plans to pick up the tab for the travelers.
"We
don't want them to have to think about meals, we don't want them to have to
think about where to stay, we don't want them to have to think about
anything," said Nova Scotia Premier Russell MacLellan.
Late
Thursday, Swissair said it would offer each victim's family $20,000 as
"compensatory damages" to help "meet the immediate financial
needs that may be experienced" by them due to the crash.
Meanwhile,
more details emerged Friday about those who lost their lives.
Here's a
brief look at some of the victims:
· Tara
Nelson, a physician from Mystic, Connecticut, was en route to France to
rendezvous with her boyfriend. Nelson's sister is expecting a baby, and Nelson
was to assist in the baby's delivery.
"Everybody
has their own Princess Diana. She was our Princess Diana," said Nelson's
aunt, Laurie Michel. "This is monstrous."
 |
|
Relatives board a charter flight in New York
|
|
· John
Mortimer, 75, and his wife Hilda, 69, were taking their annual European
vacation. The Stamford, Connecticut, couple feared flying, relatives said.
John
Mortimer had been senior vice president for personnel and labor relations at
The New York Times for more than 25 years. He retired about 12 years ago.
· Glen
Plumleigh and his wife, Charlotte, both 56, lived in Lakewood, Colorado.
He was
considered a pioneer in Colorado television journalism, and began his TV career
at KREX in Grand Junction in 1959. By 1970, Plumleigh was chief photographer at
KWGN when the station became the first in Denver to win a National Press
Photographer's Award.
He left
the station in 1981 to work for Coors Brewing Co.'s video department. In 1993,
he started his own business. His wife was a homemaker.
"They
were very kind, very down-to-earth," family friend Amy Tekansik said.
· Tom Sperber
and his wife, Julie, were newlyweds who lived in San Juan Capistrano,
California.
He
supplied hotel chains with goods, including sheets and bedspreads. She was a pharmaceutical
representative.
"They
really were an ideal couple," neighbor Jim Bochniarz said. "We all
commented that they bought a rather large house for two, and they always said
they planned on having kids."
· Joe
LaMotta, 49, was the second son of former middleweight boxing champion Jake
LaMotta.
His older
brother, Jake LaMotta Jr., died earlier this year from cancer.
"My
only two sons died in the same year," the former champ said Thursday.
"What is God trying to tell me?"
Joe
LaMotta, president of LaMotta Foods Inc., was traveling to Geneva to promote
the company's new LaMotta Tomatta Sauce. His father said Joe loved boxing, and
had entered a number of Golden Gloves competitions.
The elder
Jake LaMotta, 76, also has four daughters. The champ was portrayed by actor
Robert DeNiro in Martin Scorsese's 1980 film "Raging Bull." He held
the middleweight title from 1949 to 1951.
Correspondents Jim Clancy and Gary Tuchman
contributed to this report.
http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/americas/9809/04/crash.families.02/index.html?_s=PM:WORLD--------------
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