Swissair Flight 111
Encyclopedia
Swissair Flight 111 was a Swissair
McDonnell Douglas MD-11
on a scheduled airline flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport
in New York City, United States to Cointrin International Airport in Geneva
, Switzerland. This flight was also a codeshare flight with Delta Air Lines
.
On 2 September 1998 the aircraft used for the flight, registered HB-IWF, crashed into the Atlantic Ocean southwest of Halifax International Airport
at the entrance to St. Margarets Bay
, Nova Scotia
. The crash site was 8 kilometres (5 mi) from shore, roughly equidistant from the tiny fishing and tourist communities of Peggys Cove
and Bayswater
. All 229 people on board died. It was the highest-ever death toll of any aviation accident involving a McDonnell Douglas MD-11.
The initial search and rescue response, crash recovery operation, and resulting investigation by the Government of Canada
took over four years and cost CAD
57 million (at that time approximately USD
38 million). The Transportation Safety Board of Canada
's (TSB) official report of their investigation stated that flammable material used in the aircraft's structure allowed a fire to spread beyond the control of the crew, resulting in the loss of control and crash of the aircraft.
Swissair Flight 111 was known as the "U.N.
shuttle" due to its popularity with United Nations
officials; the flight often carried business executives, scientists, and researchers.
, serial number 48448 registered HB-IWF, was manufactured in 1991 and Swissair was its only operator. It bore the title of Vaud, in honor of the Swiss canton of the same name
. The airframe had a total of 36,041 hours. The three engines were Pratt & Whitney
4462
s. The cabin was configured with 241 seats (12 first-, 49 business-, and 180 economy-class). First- and business-class seats were equipped with an in seat in-flight entertainment system, installed at some point after initial entry into service.
s. All personnel on board Swissair Flight 111 were qualified, certified and trained in accordance with Swiss regulations, under the Joint Aviation Authorities
(JAA).
(00:18 UTC). Beginning at 20:33 EST (00:33 UTC) and lasting until 20:47 (00:47 UTC), the aircraft experienced an unexplained thirteen-minute radio blackout. The cause of the blackout, or if it was related to the crash is unknown.
At 22:10 Atlantic Time (01:10 UTC), cruising at FL330
(approximately 33000 feet or 10,058.4 m), the flight crew—Captain Urs Zimmermann and First Officer Stephan Loew—detected an odor in the cockpit and determined it to be smoke from the air conditioning system, a situation easily remedied by closing the air conditioning vent, which a flight attendant did on Zimmermann's request. Four minutes later, the odor returned and now smoke was visible, and the pilots began to consider diverting to a nearby airport for the purpose of a quick landing. At 22:14 AT (01:14 UTC) the flight crew made a "pan-pan
" radio call to ATC
Moncton (which handles trans-atlantic air traffic approaching or departing North American air space), indicating that there was an urgent problem with the flight, but not an emergency (denoted by a "Mayday
" call) which would imply immediate danger to the aircraft, and requested a diversion to Boston's Logan International Airport
, which at that time was 300 nautical miles (555.6 km) away. ATC Moncton offered the crew a vector to the closer Halifax International Airport
in Enfield, Nova Scotia
, 66 nm (104 km) away, which Loew accepted. The crew then put on their oxygen masks and the aircraft began its descent. Zimmermann put Loew in charge of the descent while he personally ran through the two Swissair standard checklists for smoke in the cockpit, a process that would take approximately 20 minutes and become a later source of controversy.
At 22:18 AT (01:18 UTC), ATC Moncton handed over traffic control of Swissair 111 to ATC
Halifax, since the plane was now going to land in Halifax rather than leave North American air space. At 22:19 AT (01:19 UTC) the plane was 30 nautical miles (55.6 km) away from Halifax International Airport, but Loew requested more time to descend the plane from its altitude of 21000 feet (6,400.8 m). At 22:20 AT (01:20 UTC), Loew informed ATC Halifax that he needed to dump fuel, which ATC Halifax controllers would say later was a surprise considering that the request came so late; dumping fuel is a fairly standard procedure early on in nearly any "heavy" aircraft urgent landing scenario. ATC Halifax subsequently diverted Swissair 111 toward St. Margaret's Bay, where they could more safely dump fuel but still be only around 30 nautical miles (55.6 km) from Halifax.
In accordance with the Swissair checklist entitled "In case of smoke of unknown origin", the crew shut off the power supply in the cabin, which caused the recirculating fans to shut off. This caused a vacuum which induced the fire to spread back into the cockpit. This also caused the autopilot
to shut down; at 22:24:28 AT (01:24:28 UTC), Loew informed ATC Halifax that "we now must fly[...]manually." Seventeen seconds later, at 22:24:45 AT (01:24:45 UTC), Loew informed ATC Halifax that "Swissair 111 heavy is declaring emergency", repeated the emergency declaration one second later, and over the next 10 seconds stated that they had descended to "between 12,000 and 5,000 feet" and once more declared an emergency. The flight data recorder
stopped recording at 22:25:40 AT (01:25:40 AT), followed one second later by the cockpit voice recorder
. The doomed plane briefly showed up again on radar screens from 22:25:50 AT (01:25:50 UTC) until 22:26:04 AT (01:26:04 UTC). Its last recorded altitude was 9,700 feet. Shortly after the first emergency declaration, the captain can be heard leaving his seat to fight the fire, which was now spreading to the rear of the cockpit; the Swissair volume of checklists was later found fused together, as if someone had been trying to use them to fan back flames. The captain did not return to his seat, and whether he was killed from the fire or asphyxiated by the smoke is not known. However, physical evidence provides a strong indication that First Officer Loew may have survived the inferno only to die in the eventual crash; instruments show that Loew continued trying to fly the now-crippled aircraft, and gauges later indicated that he shut down engine two approximately one minute before impact, implying he was still alive and at the controls until the aircraft struck the ocean at 22:31 AT (01:31 UTC). The aircraft disintegrated on impact, killing all on board instantly. The crash location was approximately 44°24′33"N 63°58′25"W, with 300 metres' uncertainty.
operation was code-named OPERATION PERSISTANCE and was launched immediately by Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Halifax (JRCC Halifax) which tasked Royal Canadian Air Force
(RCAF), Royal Canadian Navy
(RCN), Canadian Army, Canadian Coast Guard
(CCG) and Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary
(CCGA) resources.
The first rescue resources to approach the crash site were Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary
volunteer units - mostly privately owned fishing boats - sailing from Peggys Cove, Bayswater and other harbours on St. Margarets Bay and the Aspotogan Peninsula. They were soon joined by the dedicated Canadian Coast Guard
SAR vessel CCGS Sambro and CH-113 Labrador
SAR helicopters flown by 413 Squadron from CFB Greenwood
.
The crash site's proximity to Halifax meant that ships docked at Canada's largest Royal Canadian Navy
base, CFB Halifax
, as well as one of the largest Canadian Coast Guard
bases, CCG Base Dartmouth, were within 1 hour's sailing time. Calls immediately went out to crewmembers of the following ships which sailed as soon as possible for St. Margarets Bay:
CCG ships
CCGS Hudson
, CCGS Mary Hichens, CCGS Simon Fraser
, CCGS Earl Grey
, CCGS Matthew, and CCGS Sambro (initial tasking - first government vessel on scene)
There were also several CCG helicopters (model MBB Bo 105]), RHIBs
and auxiliary vessels which assisted.
RCN warships
, , , , , , ,
There were also several RCAF CH-124 Sea King
anti-submarine warfare helicopters as well as RCN RHIBs
which assisted.
RCN submarines
RCN auxiliary vessels
CFAV Sechelt (YDT 610), CFAV Granby (YDT 12), CFAV Glenevis (YTB 642)
HMCS Preserver was assigned on-scene commander of OPERATION PERSISTENCE and had authority over all aircraft and vessels within the area surrounding the crash site.
were given overall command of the recovery operation with HMCS Preserver remaining on-scene commander.
The aircraft broke up on impact with the water, and most of the debris sank to the ocean floor (a depth of 55 m or 180 ft). Some debris was found floating in the crash area, and over the following weeks debris washed up on the nearby shorelines.
The initial focus of the recovery was on finding and identifying human remains, and on recovering the flight recorder
s, but this proved difficult as the force of impact was "in the order of at least 350 g
",
and the environmental conditions only allowed recovery along with wreckage.
Only one of the victims was visually identifiable. 147 were identified by fingerprint, dental records, and X-ray comparisons. The remaining 81 were identified through DNA tests.
A request was made by the Government of Canada
to the Government of the United States
for a dedicated salvage
ship. was tasked to the recovery effort, arriving on Wednesday, September 9, 1998 from Philadelphia
. Among Grapples crew were 32 salvage divers.
The cockpit voice recorder
(CVR) and flight data recorder
(FDR) were found by the submarine using sonar to detect the underwater locator beacon signals, and quickly retrieved by Royal Canadian Navy
divers (the FDR on 6 September and the CVR on 11 September 1998). However, both had stopped recording when the aircraft lost electrical power at approximately 10000 ft (3,048 m), 5 minutes and 37 seconds before impact.
The recovery operation was guided by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada
(TSB) with resources from the Canadian Forces, Canadian Coast Guard, RCMP, and other agencies. The area was surveyed using route survey sonar, laser line scanners, and remotely operated vehicle
s to locate items, then recovered (initially by divers and ROV's, later by dredging and trawling).
On 2 October 1998 the TSB initiated a heavy lift operation to retrieve the major portion of the wreckage from the deep water before the expected winter storms began. By 21 October, an estimated 27% of the wreckage was recovered.
At that point in the investigation, the crash was generally believed to have been caused by faulty wiring in the cockpit, after the entertainment system in the plane started to overheat. Certain groups issued Aviation Safety Recommendations. The TSB released its preliminary report on 30 August 2000, but the final report was not completed until 2003.
The final phase of wreckage recovery employed the ship Queen of the Netherlands
to dredge
the remaining aircraft debris. It concluded in December 1999 with 98% of the aircraft retrieved: approximately 126,554 kg (279,000 lb) of aircraft debris and 18,144 kg (40,000 lb) of cargo.
Most of the passengers were American, French, and Swiss.
132 Americans (including one Delta Air Lines
flight attendant), 41 Swiss (including 13 crew members), 30 French, 6 Britons
, 3 Germans
,3 Italians, 3 Canadians, 2 Greeks, 2 Lebanese
, 1 each from Afghanistan
, China, India, Iran
, Russia, Saudi Arabia
, Spain, St. Kitts and Nevis, Sweden, and Yugoslavia
, and 4 others were on board.
A number of notable individuals died in this accident, including Jonathan Mann
, former head of the WHO
's AIDS
program; Mann's wife, AIDS researcher Mary Lou Clements-Mann
; Pierce J. Gerety Jr., UNHCR Director of Operations for the Great Lakes Region of Africa, who was on a special mission for U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan
to the Democratic Republic of the Congo
to attempt to negotiate a peace accord with Laurent Kabila in an erupting regional war; and Joseph LaMotta
, son of former boxing
world champion Jake LaMotta
. Also among the passengers were Mahmood Diba, the cousin of former Iranian Queen Farah Diba, Saudi royalty Prince Bandar Bin Saud bin Saad Abdul Rahman al-Saud, former New York Times executive John Mortimer and his wife Hilda, and Dr. Roger Williams, a top cardiovascular genetics expert and professor of internal medicine at the University of Utah
Tennis player Marc Rosset
, originally scheduled to take the flight, had changed his plans to a different flight.
(RCMP) medical examiners identified most of the bodies within 10 weeks of the accident flight. One body was identifiable by sight. For around 100 bodies the examiners used DNA
; the DNA analysis has been referred to as the largest DNA identification project in Canadian history. For around 90 bodies Canadian medical examiners used dental records. For around 30 bodies examiners used fingerprints and antemortem (before death) x-rays. The large number of antemortem dental x-rays meant that around 90 bodies had been identified by the end of October. The RCMP contacted relatives of victims to ask for medical histories and dental records. Blood samples from relatives were used in the DNA identification of victims.
, where small material was hand inspected by teams of RCMP officers looking for human remains, personal effects and valuables from the aircraft's cargo hold. The material was then transported to CFB Shearwater
where it was assembled and inspected by over 350 investigators from multiple organizations such as TSB, NTSB, FAA, AAIB
, Boeing
, and Pratt & Whitney
.
As each piece of wreckage was brought in, it was carefully cleaned with fresh water, sorted, and weighed. The item was then placed in a specific area of a Hangar at CFB Shearwater, based on a grid system representing the various sections of the plane. All items not considered significant to the crash were stored with similar items in large boxes. When a box was full, it was then weighed and moved to a custom-built temporary structure (J-Hangar) on a discontinued runway for long-term storage. If deemed significant to the investigation, the item was documented, photographed, and kept in the active examination hangar. Particular attention was paid to any item showing heat damage, burns, or other unusual marks.
Arcing
from wiring of the in-flight entertainment
system network did not trip the circuit breaker
s. While suggestive, the investigation was unable to confirm if this arc was the "lead event" that ignited the flammable covering on MPET insulation blankets that quickly spread across other flammable materials. The crew did not recognize that a fire had started and were not warned by instruments. Once they became aware of the fire, the uncertainty of the problem made it difficult to address. The rapid spread of the fire led to the failure of key display systems, and the crew were soon rendered unable to control the aircraft. Because he had no light by which to see his controls after the displays failed, the pilot was forced to steer the plane blindly; intentionally or not, the plane swerved off course and headed back out into the Atlantic. Recovered fragments of the plane show that the heat inside the cockpit became so great that the ceiling started to melt.
The recovered standby attitude indicator
and airspeed indicator
showed that the aircraft struck the water at 300 knots (560 km/h, 348 mph) in a 20 degrees nose down and 110 degree bank turn, or almost upside down.
Less than a second after impact the plane would have been totally crushed, killing all aboard almost instantly. The TSB concluded that even if the crew had been aware of the nature of the problem, the rate at which the fire spread would have precluded a safe landing at Halifax even if an approach had begun as soon as the "pan-pan-pan" was declared.
The lack of flight recorder data for the last six minutes of the flight added significant complexity to the investigation and was a major factor in its duration. The Transportation Safety Board team had to reconstruct the last six minutes of flight entirely from the physical evidence. The plane was broken into millions of small pieces by the impact, making this process time-consuming and tedious. The investigation became the longest and most expensive transport accident investigation in Canadian history, costing C$57 million (US$48.5 million) over five years.
program The Fifth Estate
reported allegations suggesting that an incendiary device might have been the cause of the crash. These claims came from a former RCMP officer who claims that suspicious levels of magnesium
and other elements associated with arson were discovered in the wiring, and that he was ordered to remove references to magnesium or a suspected bomb from his investigative notes. The CBC later reported that the magnesium was explained by the long exposure of the wires to seawater.
. The following year a memorial service was held in Nova Scotia.
Two memorials to those who died in the crash have been established by the Government of Nova Scotia. One is to the east of the crash site at The Whalesback, a promontory
one kilometre (0.6 mile) north of Peggys Cove
. The second memorial is a more private but much larger commemoration located west of the crash site near Bayswater Beach Provincial Park on the Aspotogan Peninsula
in Bayswater
. Here, the unidentified remains of the victims are interred. A fund was established to fund maintenance of the memorials and the government passed an act to recognize them. Various other charitable funds were also created, including one in the name of a young victim from Louisiana, Robert Martin Maillet, which provides money for children in need.
In September 1999 Swissair, Delta and Boeing
(who had acquired McDonnell Douglas
through a merger in 1997) agreed to share liability for the accident and offered the families of the passengers financial compensation. The offer was rejected in favour of a $19.8 billion suit against Swissair and DuPont
, the supplier of Mylar insulation sheathing. A US federal court dismissed the claim in February 2002.
Two paintings, including the "Le Peintre" (the Painter) by Pablo Picasso
, were on board the aircraft and were destroyed in the accident.
After the crash, the flight route designator for Swissair's New York-Geneva route was changed to Flight 139. After Swissair
's bankruptcy in 2002, the flight designator was changed again to Flight LX 23, currently using an Airbus A330-300.
Since the crash, there have been many television documentaries on Flight 111, including the CBC
's The Fifth Estate
, "The Investigation of Swissair 111", PBS's
NOVA
"Aircrash", and episodes of disaster shows like History Channel's Disasters of the Century
and Discovery Channel's Mayday
. NOVA created a classroom activity kit for school teachers using the crash as an example of an aircraft crash investigation.
In May 2007 the TSB released copies of the audio recordings of the air traffic control transmissions associated with the flight. The transcripts of these recordings had been released in 1998 (within days of the crash), but the TSB had refused to release the audio on privacy grounds. The TSB argued that under Canada's Access to Information Act
and Privacy Act, the audio recordings constituted personal information and were thus not disclosable. Canada's Federal Court of Appeal
rejected this argument in 2006, in a legal proceeding concerned with air traffic control recordings in four other air accidents.
The Supreme Court of Canada
did not grant leave to appeal that decision, and consequently the TSB released a copy of the Swissair 111 air traffic control audio recordings to Canadian Press
, which had requested them under the Access to Information Act
. Several key minutes of the air traffic control audio can be found on the Toronto Star
web site.
Swissair
Swissair AG was the former national airline of Switzerland.It was formed from a merger between Balair and Ad Astra Aero , in 1931...
McDonnell Douglas MD-11
McDonnell Douglas MD-11
The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 is a three-engine medium- to long-range widebody jet airliner, manufactured by McDonnell Douglas and, later, by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Based on the DC-10, it features a stretched fuselage, increased wingspan with winglets, refined airfoils on the wing and smaller...
on a scheduled airline flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport is an international airport located in the borough of Queens in New York City, about southeast of Lower Manhattan. It is the busiest international air passenger gateway to the United States, handling more international traffic than any other airport in North...
in New York City, United States to Cointrin International Airport in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, Switzerland. This flight was also a codeshare flight with Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a major airline based in the United States and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline operates an extensive domestic and international network serving all continents except Antarctica. Delta and its subsidiaries operate over 4,000 flights every day...
.
On 2 September 1998 the aircraft used for the flight, registered HB-IWF, crashed into the Atlantic Ocean southwest of Halifax International Airport
Halifax International Airport
Halifax/Robert L. Stanfield International Airport, or Halifax Stanfield International Airport is an airport in Enfield, Nova Scotia and in Halifax Regional Municipality, Canada...
at the entrance to St. Margarets Bay
St. Margarets Bay, Nova Scotia
St. Margarets Bay is a Canadian bay located on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia on the border of the Halifax Regional Municipality and Lunenburg County .-Description:...
, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
. The crash site was 8 kilometres (5 mi) from shore, roughly equidistant from the tiny fishing and tourist communities of Peggys Cove
Peggys Cove, Nova Scotia
Peggys Cove is one of the busiest tourist attractions in Nova Scotia and is a prime attraction on the Lighthouse Trail scenic drive. The community's famous lighthouse marks the eastern entrance of St. Margarets Bay and is officially known as the Peggys Point Lighthouse.Peggys Cove has a classic...
and Bayswater
Bayswater, Nova Scotia
Bayswater is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in the Chester Municipal District on the Aspotogan Peninsula on the Lighthouse Route .- History :...
. All 229 people on board died. It was the highest-ever death toll of any aviation accident involving a McDonnell Douglas MD-11.
The initial search and rescue response, crash recovery operation, and resulting investigation by the Government of Canada
Government of Canada
The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...
took over four years and cost CAD
Canadian dollar
The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
57 million (at that time approximately USD
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
38 million). The Transportation Safety Board of Canada
Transportation Safety Board of Canada
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada , officially the Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board is the agency of the Government of Canada responsible for maintaining...
's (TSB) official report of their investigation stated that flammable material used in the aircraft's structure allowed a fire to spread beyond the control of the crew, resulting in the loss of control and crash of the aircraft.
Swissair Flight 111 was known as the "U.N.
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
shuttle" due to its popularity with United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
officials; the flight often carried business executives, scientists, and researchers.
Aircraft
The aircraft, a McDonnell Douglas MD-11McDonnell Douglas MD-11
The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 is a three-engine medium- to long-range widebody jet airliner, manufactured by McDonnell Douglas and, later, by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Based on the DC-10, it features a stretched fuselage, increased wingspan with winglets, refined airfoils on the wing and smaller...
, serial number 48448 registered HB-IWF, was manufactured in 1991 and Swissair was its only operator. It bore the title of Vaud, in honor of the Swiss canton of the same name
Vaud
Vaud is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland and is located in Romandy, the French-speaking southwestern part of the country. The capital is Lausanne. The name of the Canton in Switzerland's other languages are Vaud in Italian , Waadt in German , and Vad in Romansh.-History:Along the lakes,...
. The airframe had a total of 36,041 hours. The three engines were Pratt & Whitney
Pratt & Whitney
Pratt & Whitney is a U.S.-based aerospace manufacturer with global service operations. It is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation . Pratt & Whitney's aircraft engines are widely used in both civil aviation and military aviation. Its headquarters are in East Hartford, Connecticut, USA...
4462
Pratt & Whitney PW4000
|-See also:-External links:* * *...
s. The cabin was configured with 241 seats (12 first-, 49 business-, and 180 economy-class). First- and business-class seats were equipped with an in seat in-flight entertainment system, installed at some point after initial entry into service.
Crew
An MD-11 has a standard flight crew consisting of a captain and a first officer, and a cabin crew made up of a maître de cabine (M/C - purser) supervising the work of 11 flight attendantFlight attendant
Flight attendants or cabin crew are members of an aircrew employed by airlines primarily to ensure the safety and comfort of passengers aboard commercial flights, on select business jet aircraft, and on some military aircraft.-History:The role of a flight attendant derives from that of similar...
s. All personnel on board Swissair Flight 111 were qualified, certified and trained in accordance with Swiss regulations, under the Joint Aviation Authorities
Joint Aviation Authorities
The Joint Aviation Authorities, or JAA, was an associated body of the ECAC representing the civil aviation regulatory authorities of a number of European States who had agreed to co-operate in developing and implementing common safety regulatory standards and procedures...
(JAA).
Flight and crash
The flight took off from New York's John F. Kennedy Airport at 20:18 Eastern Standard TimeEastern Standard Time
Eastern Standard Time may refer to:*North American Eastern Time Zone, UTC-5*Australian Eastern Standard Time, UTC+10*An album by Hip Hop group Kooley High...
(00:18 UTC). Beginning at 20:33 EST (00:33 UTC) and lasting until 20:47 (00:47 UTC), the aircraft experienced an unexplained thirteen-minute radio blackout. The cause of the blackout, or if it was related to the crash is unknown.
At 22:10 Atlantic Time (01:10 UTC), cruising at FL330
Flight level
A Flight Level is a standard nominal altitude of an aircraft, in hundreds of feet. This altitude is calculated from the International standard pressure datum of 1013.25 hPa , the average sea-level pressure, and therefore is not necessarily the same as the aircraft's true altitude either...
(approximately 33000 feet or 10,058.4 m), the flight crew—Captain Urs Zimmermann and First Officer Stephan Loew—detected an odor in the cockpit and determined it to be smoke from the air conditioning system, a situation easily remedied by closing the air conditioning vent, which a flight attendant did on Zimmermann's request. Four minutes later, the odor returned and now smoke was visible, and the pilots began to consider diverting to a nearby airport for the purpose of a quick landing. At 22:14 AT (01:14 UTC) the flight crew made a "pan-pan
Pan-pan
In radiotelephone communications, a call of three repetitions of pan-pan is used to signify that there is an urgency on board a boat, ship, aircraft or other vehicle but that, for the time being at least, there is no immediate danger to anyone's life or to the vessel itself. This is referred to as...
" radio call to ATC
Air traffic control
Air traffic control is a service provided by ground-based controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and in the air. The primary purpose of ATC systems worldwide is to separate aircraft to prevent collisions, to organize and expedite the flow of traffic, and to provide information and other...
Moncton (which handles trans-atlantic air traffic approaching or departing North American air space), indicating that there was an urgent problem with the flight, but not an emergency (denoted by a "Mayday
Mayday (distress signal)
Mayday is an emergency procedure word used internationally as a distress signal in voice procedure radio communications. It derives from the French venez m'aider, meaning "come help me"....
" call) which would imply immediate danger to the aircraft, and requested a diversion to Boston's Logan International Airport
Logan International Airport
General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport is located in the East Boston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts . It covers , has six runways, and employs an estimated 16,000 people. It is the 19th busiest airport in the United States.Boston serves as a focus city for JetBlue Airways...
, which at that time was 300 nautical miles (555.6 km) away. ATC Moncton offered the crew a vector to the closer Halifax International Airport
Halifax International Airport
Halifax/Robert L. Stanfield International Airport, or Halifax Stanfield International Airport is an airport in Enfield, Nova Scotia and in Halifax Regional Municipality, Canada...
in Enfield, Nova Scotia
Enfield, Nova Scotia
Enfield, , is a Canadian exurban community located in the Shubenacadie Valley on the border of Hants and Halifax counties. Specifically, Enfield exists in both the East Hants Municipal District and the Halifax Regional Municipality and is divided by the Shubenacadie River.The history of European...
, 66 nm (104 km) away, which Loew accepted. The crew then put on their oxygen masks and the aircraft began its descent. Zimmermann put Loew in charge of the descent while he personally ran through the two Swissair standard checklists for smoke in the cockpit, a process that would take approximately 20 minutes and become a later source of controversy.
At 22:18 AT (01:18 UTC), ATC Moncton handed over traffic control of Swissair 111 to ATC
Air traffic control
Air traffic control is a service provided by ground-based controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and in the air. The primary purpose of ATC systems worldwide is to separate aircraft to prevent collisions, to organize and expedite the flow of traffic, and to provide information and other...
Halifax, since the plane was now going to land in Halifax rather than leave North American air space. At 22:19 AT (01:19 UTC) the plane was 30 nautical miles (55.6 km) away from Halifax International Airport, but Loew requested more time to descend the plane from its altitude of 21000 feet (6,400.8 m). At 22:20 AT (01:20 UTC), Loew informed ATC Halifax that he needed to dump fuel, which ATC Halifax controllers would say later was a surprise considering that the request came so late; dumping fuel is a fairly standard procedure early on in nearly any "heavy" aircraft urgent landing scenario. ATC Halifax subsequently diverted Swissair 111 toward St. Margaret's Bay, where they could more safely dump fuel but still be only around 30 nautical miles (55.6 km) from Halifax.
In accordance with the Swissair checklist entitled "In case of smoke of unknown origin", the crew shut off the power supply in the cabin, which caused the recirculating fans to shut off. This caused a vacuum which induced the fire to spread back into the cockpit. This also caused the autopilot
Autopilot
An autopilot is a mechanical, electrical, or hydraulic system used to guide a vehicle without assistance from a human being. An autopilot can refer specifically to aircraft, self-steering gear for boats, or auto guidance of space craft and missiles...
to shut down; at 22:24:28 AT (01:24:28 UTC), Loew informed ATC Halifax that "we now must fly[...]manually." Seventeen seconds later, at 22:24:45 AT (01:24:45 UTC), Loew informed ATC Halifax that "Swissair 111 heavy is declaring emergency", repeated the emergency declaration one second later, and over the next 10 seconds stated that they had descended to "between 12,000 and 5,000 feet" and once more declared an emergency. The flight data recorder
Flight data recorder
A flight data recorder is an electronic device employed to record any instructions sent to any electronic systems on an aircraft. It is a device used to record specific aircraft performance parameters...
stopped recording at 22:25:40 AT (01:25:40 AT), followed one second later by the cockpit voice recorder
Cockpit voice recorder
A cockpit voice recorder , often referred to as a "black box", is a flight recorder used to record the audio environment in the flight deck of an aircraft for the purpose of investigation of accidents and incidents...
. The doomed plane briefly showed up again on radar screens from 22:25:50 AT (01:25:50 UTC) until 22:26:04 AT (01:26:04 UTC). Its last recorded altitude was 9,700 feet. Shortly after the first emergency declaration, the captain can be heard leaving his seat to fight the fire, which was now spreading to the rear of the cockpit; the Swissair volume of checklists was later found fused together, as if someone had been trying to use them to fan back flames. The captain did not return to his seat, and whether he was killed from the fire or asphyxiated by the smoke is not known. However, physical evidence provides a strong indication that First Officer Loew may have survived the inferno only to die in the eventual crash; instruments show that Loew continued trying to fly the now-crippled aircraft, and gauges later indicated that he shut down engine two approximately one minute before impact, implying he was still alive and at the controls until the aircraft struck the ocean at 22:31 AT (01:31 UTC). The aircraft disintegrated on impact, killing all on board instantly. The crash location was approximately 44°24′33"N 63°58′25"W, with 300 metres' uncertainty.
Search and rescue operation
The search and rescueSearch and rescue
Search and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...
operation was code-named OPERATION PERSISTANCE and was launched immediately by Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Halifax (JRCC Halifax) which tasked Royal Canadian Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...
(RCAF), Royal Canadian Navy
Royal Canadian Navy
The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...
(RCN), Canadian Army, Canadian Coast Guard
Canadian Coast Guard
The Canadian Coast Guard is the coast guard of Canada. It is a federal agency responsible for providing maritime search and rescue , aids to navigation, marine pollution response, marine radio, and icebreaking...
(CCG) and Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary
Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary
The Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary or CCGA is a Canada-wide volunteer marine association dedicated to marine search and rescue and the promotion of boating safety, through association with the Canadian Coast Guard under the auspices of Canada's National Search and Rescue Program.-History:Coastal...
(CCGA) resources.
The first rescue resources to approach the crash site were Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary
Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary
The Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary or CCGA is a Canada-wide volunteer marine association dedicated to marine search and rescue and the promotion of boating safety, through association with the Canadian Coast Guard under the auspices of Canada's National Search and Rescue Program.-History:Coastal...
volunteer units - mostly privately owned fishing boats - sailing from Peggys Cove, Bayswater and other harbours on St. Margarets Bay and the Aspotogan Peninsula. They were soon joined by the dedicated Canadian Coast Guard
Canadian Coast Guard
The Canadian Coast Guard is the coast guard of Canada. It is a federal agency responsible for providing maritime search and rescue , aids to navigation, marine pollution response, marine radio, and icebreaking...
SAR vessel CCGS Sambro and CH-113 Labrador
CH-113 Labrador
|-See also:-External links:* * * *...
SAR helicopters flown by 413 Squadron from CFB Greenwood
CFB Greenwood
Canadian Forces Base Greenwood , commonly referred to as "14 Wing Greenwood" or CFB Greenwood, is a Canadian Forces Base located in Greenwood, Nova Scotia. It is primarily operated as an air force base by the Royal Canadian Air Force and is one of two bases in the country using the CP-140 Aurora...
.
The crash site's proximity to Halifax meant that ships docked at Canada's largest Royal Canadian Navy
Royal Canadian Navy
The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...
base, CFB Halifax
CFB Halifax
Canadian Forces Base Halifax is Canada's east coast navy base and home port to the Atlantic fleet, known as Maritime Forces Atlantic....
, as well as one of the largest Canadian Coast Guard
Canadian Coast Guard
The Canadian Coast Guard is the coast guard of Canada. It is a federal agency responsible for providing maritime search and rescue , aids to navigation, marine pollution response, marine radio, and icebreaking...
bases, CCG Base Dartmouth, were within 1 hour's sailing time. Calls immediately went out to crewmembers of the following ships which sailed as soon as possible for St. Margarets Bay:
CCG ships
CCGS Hudson
CCGS Hudson
The CCGS Hudson is an offshore oceanographic and hydrographic survey vessel operated by the Canadian Coast Guard.The Hudson is Canada's oldest operational ocean research vessel...
, CCGS Mary Hichens, CCGS Simon Fraser
CCGS Simon Fraser
The CCGS Simon Fraser is a buoy tender once operated by the Canadian Coast Guard.She was built, in 1960, at the Burrard Dry Docks, in Vancouver, British Columbia.She was modernized in 1986, at Versatile Marine, Montreal, Quebec....
, CCGS Earl Grey
CCGS Earl Grey
CCGS Earl Grey is a Medium-endurance Multi-tasked Vessel in the Canadian Coast Guard.She serves a variety of roles, including light ice-breaking and buoy tending, as well as being strengthened for navigation in ice to perform tasking along the shores off PEI...
, CCGS Matthew, and CCGS Sambro (initial tasking - first government vessel on scene)
There were also several CCG helicopters (model MBB Bo 105]), RHIBs
Rigid-hulled inflatable boat
A rigid-hulled inflatable boat, or rigid-inflatable boat is a light-weight but high-performance and high-capacity boat constructed with a solid, shaped hull and flexible tubes at the gunwale. The design is stable and seaworthy...
and auxiliary vessels which assisted.
RCN warships
, , , , , , ,
There were also several RCAF CH-124 Sea King
CH-124 Sea King
The Sikorsky CH-124 Sea King is a twin-engined anti-submarine warfare helicopter designed for shipboard use. The Canadian variant is based on the US Navy's SH-3 and has been continuously in service with the Royal Canadian Navy and Canadian Forces since 1963.-Design and development:The advent of...
anti-submarine warfare helicopters as well as RCN RHIBs
Rigid-hulled inflatable boat
A rigid-hulled inflatable boat, or rigid-inflatable boat is a light-weight but high-performance and high-capacity boat constructed with a solid, shaped hull and flexible tubes at the gunwale. The design is stable and seaworthy...
which assisted.
RCN submarines
RCN auxiliary vessels
CFAV Sechelt (YDT 610), CFAV Granby (YDT 12), CFAV Glenevis (YTB 642)
CFAV Glenevis (YTB 642)
CFAV Glenevis is a Glen class naval tugboat operated by the Royal Canadian Navy. Built at Georgetown Shipyard, Georgetown, Prince Edward Island, and launched in 1976, the ship was delivered on 9 August 1976. Attached to Maritime Forces Atlantic, the ship is based at CFB Halifax....
HMCS Preserver was assigned on-scene commander of OPERATION PERSISTENCE and had authority over all aircraft and vessels within the area surrounding the crash site.
Search and recovery operation
By the afternoon of September 3 it was apparent that there were no survivors from the crash and JRCC Halifax de-tasked dedicated SAR assets (CCGS Sambro and the CH-113 Labrador helicopters). The Royal Canadian Mounted PoliceRoyal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
were given overall command of the recovery operation with HMCS Preserver remaining on-scene commander.
The aircraft broke up on impact with the water, and most of the debris sank to the ocean floor (a depth of 55 m or 180 ft). Some debris was found floating in the crash area, and over the following weeks debris washed up on the nearby shorelines.
The initial focus of the recovery was on finding and identifying human remains, and on recovering the flight recorder
Flight recorder
A flight recorder is an electronic recording device placed in an aircraft for the purpose of facilitating the investigation of an aircraft accident or incident. For this reason, flight recorders are required to be capable of surviving the conditions likely to be encountered in a severe aircraft...
s, but this proved difficult as the force of impact was "in the order of at least 350 g
G-force
The g-force associated with an object is its acceleration relative to free-fall. This acceleration experienced by an object is due to the vector sum of non-gravitational forces acting on an object free to move. The accelerations that are not produced by gravity are termed proper accelerations, and...
",
and the environmental conditions only allowed recovery along with wreckage.
Only one of the victims was visually identifiable. 147 were identified by fingerprint, dental records, and X-ray comparisons. The remaining 81 were identified through DNA tests.
A request was made by the Government of Canada
Government of Canada
The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...
to the Government of the United States
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
for a dedicated salvage
Marine salvage
Marine salvage is the process of rescuing a ship, its cargo, or other property from peril. Salvage encompasses rescue towing, refloating a sunken or grounded vessel, or patching or repairing a ship...
ship. was tasked to the recovery effort, arriving on Wednesday, September 9, 1998 from Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
. Among Grapples crew were 32 salvage divers.
The cockpit voice recorder
Cockpit voice recorder
A cockpit voice recorder , often referred to as a "black box", is a flight recorder used to record the audio environment in the flight deck of an aircraft for the purpose of investigation of accidents and incidents...
(CVR) and flight data recorder
Flight data recorder
A flight data recorder is an electronic device employed to record any instructions sent to any electronic systems on an aircraft. It is a device used to record specific aircraft performance parameters...
(FDR) were found by the submarine using sonar to detect the underwater locator beacon signals, and quickly retrieved by Royal Canadian Navy
Royal Canadian Navy
The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...
divers (the FDR on 6 September and the CVR on 11 September 1998). However, both had stopped recording when the aircraft lost electrical power at approximately 10000 ft (3,048 m), 5 minutes and 37 seconds before impact.
Transportation Safety Board of Canada
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada , officially the Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board is the agency of the Government of Canada responsible for maintaining...
(TSB) with resources from the Canadian Forces, Canadian Coast Guard, RCMP, and other agencies. The area was surveyed using route survey sonar, laser line scanners, and remotely operated vehicle
Remotely operated vehicle
A remotely operated vehicle is a tethered underwater vehicle. They are common in deepwater industries such as offshore hydrocarbon extraction. An ROV may sometimes be called a remotely operated underwater vehicle to distinguish it from remote control vehicles operating on land or in the air. ROVs...
s to locate items, then recovered (initially by divers and ROV's, later by dredging and trawling).
On 2 October 1998 the TSB initiated a heavy lift operation to retrieve the major portion of the wreckage from the deep water before the expected winter storms began. By 21 October, an estimated 27% of the wreckage was recovered.
At that point in the investigation, the crash was generally believed to have been caused by faulty wiring in the cockpit, after the entertainment system in the plane started to overheat. Certain groups issued Aviation Safety Recommendations. The TSB released its preliminary report on 30 August 2000, but the final report was not completed until 2003.
The final phase of wreckage recovery employed the ship Queen of the Netherlands
Queen of the Netherlands (ship)
The Queen of the Netherlands is a Dutch trailing suction hopper dredging ship constructed in 1998. The vessel has been used in high-profile salvage and dredging operations including the investigation into the Swissair Flight 111 crash and in the Port Phillip Channel Deepening Project...
to dredge
Dredge
Dredging is an excavation activity or operation usually carried out at least partly underwater, in shallow seas or fresh water areas with the purpose of gathering up bottom sediments and disposing of them at a different location...
the remaining aircraft debris. It concluded in December 1999 with 98% of the aircraft retrieved: approximately 126,554 kg (279,000 lb) of aircraft debris and 18,144 kg (40,000 lb) of cargo.
Victims
| Final tally of passenger nationalities | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality | Passengers | Crew | Total |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 3 | 0 | 3 | |
| and | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 41 | 0 | 41 | |
| and | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| and | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| and | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| and | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| and | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | 0 | 3 | |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 31 | 13 | 44 | |
| and | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| and | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| and | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 3 | 0 | 3 | |
| and | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 110 | 1 | 111 | |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| Total | 215 | 14 | 229 |
Most of the passengers were American, French, and Swiss.
132 Americans (including one Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a major airline based in the United States and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline operates an extensive domestic and international network serving all continents except Antarctica. Delta and its subsidiaries operate over 4,000 flights every day...
flight attendant), 41 Swiss (including 13 crew members), 30 French, 6 Britons
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, 3 Germans
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
,3 Italians, 3 Canadians, 2 Greeks, 2 Lebanese
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, 1 each from Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, China, India, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, Russia, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
, Spain, St. Kitts and Nevis, Sweden, and Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
, and 4 others were on board.
A number of notable individuals died in this accident, including Jonathan Mann
Jonathan Mann
Jonathan Mann was a former head of the World Health Organization's global AIDS program.Mann was medically qualified, receiving his B.A. from Harvard College, his M.D. from Washington University in St. Louis , and the degree of M.P.H. from the Harvard School of Public Health in 1980.Mann was a key...
, former head of the WHO
Who
Who may refer to:* Who , an English-language pronoun* who , a Unix command* Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism- Art and entertainment :* Who? , a 1958 novel by Algis Budrys...
's AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
program; Mann's wife, AIDS researcher Mary Lou Clements-Mann
Mary Lou Clements-Mann
Dr. Mary Lou Clements-Mann was the longtime head of the Division of Vaccine Sciences at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and is well-known for her knowledge and work in HIV and AIDS....
; Pierce J. Gerety Jr., UNHCR Director of Operations for the Great Lakes Region of Africa, who was on a special mission for U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan
Kofi Annan
Kofi Atta Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the UN from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006...
to the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
to attempt to negotiate a peace accord with Laurent Kabila in an erupting regional war; and Joseph LaMotta
Joseph LaMotta
Joseph LaMotta was the son of former middleweight boxing champion Jake LaMotta and his second wife Vikki LaMotta....
, son of former boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
world champion Jake LaMotta
Jake LaMotta
Giacobbe LaMotta , better known as Jake LaMotta, nicknamed "The Bronx Bull" and "The Raging Bull", is a former American world middleweight champion boxer...
. Also among the passengers were Mahmood Diba, the cousin of former Iranian Queen Farah Diba, Saudi royalty Prince Bandar Bin Saud bin Saad Abdul Rahman al-Saud, former New York Times executive John Mortimer and his wife Hilda, and Dr. Roger Williams, a top cardiovascular genetics expert and professor of internal medicine at the University of Utah
University of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
Tennis player Marc Rosset
Marc Rosset
Marc Rosset is a former professional tennis player from Switzerland who is best remembered for winning the men's singles Gold Medal at the 1992 Olympic Games....
, originally scheduled to take the flight, had changed his plans to a different flight.
Identification
The Royal Canadian Mounted PoliceRoyal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
(RCMP) medical examiners identified most of the bodies within 10 weeks of the accident flight. One body was identifiable by sight. For around 100 bodies the examiners used DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
; the DNA analysis has been referred to as the largest DNA identification project in Canadian history. For around 90 bodies Canadian medical examiners used dental records. For around 30 bodies examiners used fingerprints and antemortem (before death) x-rays. The large number of antemortem dental x-rays meant that around 90 bodies had been identified by the end of October. The RCMP contacted relatives of victims to ask for medical histories and dental records. Blood samples from relatives were used in the DNA identification of victims.
Examination and investigation
An estimated 2 million pieces of debris were recovered and brought ashore for inspection at a secure handling facility in a marine industrial park at Sheet HarbourSheet Harbour, Nova Scotia
Sheet Harbour is a small community on the eastern shore of the Halifax Regional Municipality, in Nova Scotia, Canada in the Musquodoboit/Sheet Harbour region of the Marine Drive on Trunk 7, 87.44 kilometers from Halifax.-History:...
, where small material was hand inspected by teams of RCMP officers looking for human remains, personal effects and valuables from the aircraft's cargo hold. The material was then transported to CFB Shearwater
CFB Shearwater
Canadian Forces Base Shearwater , commonly referred to as CFB Shearwater, was a Canadian Forces Base located in Shearwater, Nova Scotia on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour in the Halifax Regional Municipality....
where it was assembled and inspected by over 350 investigators from multiple organizations such as TSB, NTSB, FAA, AAIB
Air Accidents Investigation Branch
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch investigates air accidents in the United Kingdom. It is a branch of the Department for Transport and is based on the grounds of Farnborough Airport near Aldershot, Rushmoor, Hampshire.-History:...
, Boeing
Boeing Commercial Airplanes
Boeing Commercial Airplanes designs, assembles, markets and sells large commercial jet aircraft and provides product-related maintenance and training to customers worldwide...
, and Pratt & Whitney
Pratt & Whitney
Pratt & Whitney is a U.S.-based aerospace manufacturer with global service operations. It is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation . Pratt & Whitney's aircraft engines are widely used in both civil aviation and military aviation. Its headquarters are in East Hartford, Connecticut, USA...
.
As each piece of wreckage was brought in, it was carefully cleaned with fresh water, sorted, and weighed. The item was then placed in a specific area of a Hangar at CFB Shearwater, based on a grid system representing the various sections of the plane. All items not considered significant to the crash were stored with similar items in large boxes. When a box was full, it was then weighed and moved to a custom-built temporary structure (J-Hangar) on a discontinued runway for long-term storage. If deemed significant to the investigation, the item was documented, photographed, and kept in the active examination hangar. Particular attention was paid to any item showing heat damage, burns, or other unusual marks.
Cockpit and recordings
The front 10 m (33 ft) of the aircraft, from the front of the cockpit to near the front of the first-class passenger cabin, was reconstructed. Information gained by this allowed investigators to determine the severity and limits of the fire damage, its possible origins and progression. The cockpit voice recorder used a 1/4 inch recording tape, operating on a 30 minute loop. It therefore only retained the last half hour of the flight. The CVR recording and transcript are protected by a strict privilege under section 28 of the Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board Act, and thus have not been publicly disclosed. The air traffic control recordings are less strictly privileged: section 29 of the same act provides only that they may not be used in certain legal proceedings. The air traffic control transcripts were released within days of the crash in 1998. The air traffic control audio was released in May 2007.TSB findings
The investigation identified eleven causes and contributing factors of the crash in its final report. The first and most important was:
Aircraft certification standards for material flammability were inadequate in that they allowed the use of materials that could be ignited and sustain or propagate fire. Consequently, flammable material propagated a fire that started above the ceiling on the right side of the cockpit near the cockpit rear wall. The fire spread and intensified rapidly to the extent that it degraded aircraft systems and the cockpit environment, and ultimately led to the loss of control of the aircraft.
Arcing
Electric arc
An electric arc is an electrical breakdown of a gas which produces an ongoing plasma discharge, resulting from a current flowing through normally nonconductive media such as air. A synonym is arc discharge. An arc discharge is characterized by a lower voltage than a glow discharge, and relies on...
from wiring of the in-flight entertainment
In-flight Entertainment
In-flight entertainment refers to the entertainment available to aircraft passengers during a flight. In 1936, the airship Hindenburg offered passengers a piano, lounge, dining room, smoking room, and bar during the 2½ day flight between Europe and America...
system network did not trip the circuit breaker
Circuit breaker
A circuit breaker is an automatically operated electrical switch designed to protect an electrical circuit from damage caused by overload or short circuit. Its basic function is to detect a fault condition and, by interrupting continuity, to immediately discontinue electrical flow...
s. While suggestive, the investigation was unable to confirm if this arc was the "lead event" that ignited the flammable covering on MPET insulation blankets that quickly spread across other flammable materials. The crew did not recognize that a fire had started and were not warned by instruments. Once they became aware of the fire, the uncertainty of the problem made it difficult to address. The rapid spread of the fire led to the failure of key display systems, and the crew were soon rendered unable to control the aircraft. Because he had no light by which to see his controls after the displays failed, the pilot was forced to steer the plane blindly; intentionally or not, the plane swerved off course and headed back out into the Atlantic. Recovered fragments of the plane show that the heat inside the cockpit became so great that the ceiling started to melt.
The recovered standby attitude indicator
Attitude indicator
An attitude indicator , also known as gyro horizon or artificial horizon, is an instrument used in an aircraft to inform the pilot of the orientation of the aircraft relative to earth. It indicates pitch and bank or roll and is a primary instrument for flight in instrument meteorological conditions...
and airspeed indicator
Airspeed indicator
The airspeed indicator or airspeed gauge is an instrument used in an aircraft to display the craft's airspeed, typically in knots, to the pilot.- Use :...
showed that the aircraft struck the water at 300 knots (560 km/h, 348 mph) in a 20 degrees nose down and 110 degree bank turn, or almost upside down.
Less than a second after impact the plane would have been totally crushed, killing all aboard almost instantly. The TSB concluded that even if the crew had been aware of the nature of the problem, the rate at which the fire spread would have precluded a safe landing at Halifax even if an approach had begun as soon as the "pan-pan-pan" was declared.
TSB recommendations
The TSB made nine recommendations relating to changes in aircraft materials (testing, certification, inspection and maintenance), electrical systems, and flight data capture. (Both flight recorders stopped when they lost power six minutes before impact.) General recommendations were also made regarding improvements in checklists and in fire-detection and fire-fighting equipment and training. These recommendations have led to widespread changes in FAA standards, principally impacting wiring and fire hardening.The lack of flight recorder data for the last six minutes of the flight added significant complexity to the investigation and was a major factor in its duration. The Transportation Safety Board team had to reconstruct the last six minutes of flight entirely from the physical evidence. The plane was broken into millions of small pieces by the impact, making this process time-consuming and tedious. The investigation became the longest and most expensive transport accident investigation in Canadian history, costing C$57 million (US$48.5 million) over five years.
2011 speculation
In September 2011, the CBCCanadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
program The Fifth Estate
The fifth estate
the fifth estate is a Canadian television newsmagazine, which airs on the English language CBC Television network. The name is a play on the fact that the media are sometimes referred to as the Fourth Estate, and was chosen to highlight the program's determination to go beyond everyday news into...
reported allegations suggesting that an incendiary device might have been the cause of the crash. These claims came from a former RCMP officer who claims that suspicious levels of magnesium
Magnesium
Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg, atomic number 12, and common oxidation number +2. It is an alkaline earth metal and the eighth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and ninth in the known universe as a whole...
and other elements associated with arson were discovered in the wiring, and that he was ordered to remove references to magnesium or a suspected bomb from his investigative notes. The CBC later reported that the magnesium was explained by the long exposure of the wires to seawater.
Legacy
A memorial service was held in ZürichZürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
. The following year a memorial service was held in Nova Scotia.
Two memorials to those who died in the crash have been established by the Government of Nova Scotia. One is to the east of the crash site at The Whalesback, a promontory
Headlands and bays
Headlands and bays are two related features of the coastal environment.- Geology and geography :Headlands and bays are often found on the same coastline. A bay is surrounded by land on three sides, whereas a headland is surrounded by water on three sides. Headlands are characterized by high,...
one kilometre (0.6 mile) north of Peggys Cove
Peggys Cove, Nova Scotia
Peggys Cove is one of the busiest tourist attractions in Nova Scotia and is a prime attraction on the Lighthouse Trail scenic drive. The community's famous lighthouse marks the eastern entrance of St. Margarets Bay and is officially known as the Peggys Point Lighthouse.Peggys Cove has a classic...
. The second memorial is a more private but much larger commemoration located west of the crash site near Bayswater Beach Provincial Park on the Aspotogan Peninsula
Aspotogan Peninsula
The Aspotogan Peninsula is a peninsula in the eastern part of Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, situated between St. Margarets Bay in the east from Mahone Bay in the west. The Peninsula was originally settled by second generation French immigrants on the eastside of the Aspotogan and second...
in Bayswater
Bayswater, Nova Scotia
Bayswater is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in the Chester Municipal District on the Aspotogan Peninsula on the Lighthouse Route .- History :...
. Here, the unidentified remains of the victims are interred. A fund was established to fund maintenance of the memorials and the government passed an act to recognize them. Various other charitable funds were also created, including one in the name of a young victim from Louisiana, Robert Martin Maillet, which provides money for children in need.
In September 1999 Swissair, Delta and Boeing
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
(who had acquired McDonnell Douglas
McDonnell Douglas
McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturer and defense contractor, producing a number of famous commercial and military aircraft. It formed from a merger of McDonnell Aircraft and Douglas Aircraft in 1967. McDonnell Douglas was based at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport...
through a merger in 1997) agreed to share liability for the accident and offered the families of the passengers financial compensation. The offer was rejected in favour of a $19.8 billion suit against Swissair and DuPont
DuPont
E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company , commonly referred to as DuPont, is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802 as a gunpowder mill by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont. DuPont was the world's third largest chemical company based on market capitalization and ninth based on revenue in 2009...
, the supplier of Mylar insulation sheathing. A US federal court dismissed the claim in February 2002.
Two paintings, including the "Le Peintre" (the Painter) by Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
, were on board the aircraft and were destroyed in the accident.
After the crash, the flight route designator for Swissair's New York-Geneva route was changed to Flight 139. After Swissair
Swissair
Swissair AG was the former national airline of Switzerland.It was formed from a merger between Balair and Ad Astra Aero , in 1931...
's bankruptcy in 2002, the flight designator was changed again to Flight LX 23, currently using an Airbus A330-300.
Since the crash, there have been many television documentaries on Flight 111, including the CBC
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
's The Fifth Estate
The fifth estate
the fifth estate is a Canadian television newsmagazine, which airs on the English language CBC Television network. The name is a play on the fact that the media are sometimes referred to as the Fourth Estate, and was chosen to highlight the program's determination to go beyond everyday news into...
, "The Investigation of Swissair 111", PBS's
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
NOVA
NOVA (TV series)
Nova is a popular science television series from the U.S. produced by WGBH Boston. It can be seen on the Public Broadcasting Service in the United States, and in more than 100 other countries...
"Aircrash", and episodes of disaster shows like History Channel's Disasters of the Century
Disasters of the Century
Disasters of the Century is a documentary television series that airs on History Television. The program is produced by Regina, Saskatchewan-based Partners in Motion....
and Discovery Channel's Mayday
Mayday (TV series)
Mayday, also known as Air Crash Investigation in the United Kingdom, Australia and Asia and Air Emergency and Air Disasters in the United States, is a Canadian documentary television programme produced by Cineflix investigating air crashes, near-crashes and other disasters...
. NOVA created a classroom activity kit for school teachers using the crash as an example of an aircraft crash investigation.
In May 2007 the TSB released copies of the audio recordings of the air traffic control transmissions associated with the flight. The transcripts of these recordings had been released in 1998 (within days of the crash), but the TSB had refused to release the audio on privacy grounds. The TSB argued that under Canada's Access to Information Act
Access to Information Act
Access to Information Act or Information Act is a Canadian act providing the right of access to information under the control of a government institution...
and Privacy Act, the audio recordings constituted personal information and were thus not disclosable. Canada's Federal Court of Appeal
Federal Court of Appeal (Canada)
The Federal Court of Appeal is a Canadian appellate court that hears cases concerning federal matters arising from certain federal Acts. The court was created on July 2, 2003 by the Courts Administration Service Act when it and the Federal Court were split from its predecessor, the Federal Court of...
rejected this argument in 2006, in a legal proceeding concerned with air traffic control recordings in four other air accidents.
The Supreme Court of Canada
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeals in the Canadian justice system. The court grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts, and its decisions...
did not grant leave to appeal that decision, and consequently the TSB released a copy of the Swissair 111 air traffic control audio recordings to Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Canadian Press Enterprises Inc. is the entity which "will take over the operations of the Canadian Press" according to a November 26, 2010 article in the Toronto Star...
, which had requested them under the Access to Information Act
Access to Information Act
Access to Information Act or Information Act is a Canadian act providing the right of access to information under the control of a government institution...
. Several key minutes of the air traffic control audio can be found on the Toronto Star
Toronto Star
The Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
web site.
Further reading
- French version available hereExternal links
- Transportation Safety Board of CanadaTransportation Safety Board of CanadaThe Transportation Safety Board of Canada , officially the Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board is the agency of the Government of Canada responsible for maintaining...
- Swissair - Information about the accident of SR111 - SwissairSwissairSwissair AG was the former national airline of Switzerland.It was formed from a merger between Balair and Ad Astra Aero , in 1931...
(Archive) - Swissair Flight 111 - Memorial Website
- Full Coverage:World News:Swissair Crash Investigation - Yahoo! NewsYahoo! NewsYahoo! News is an Internet-based news aggregator provided by Yahoo!. It features Top Stories, U.S. National, World, Business, Entertainment, Science, Health, Weather, Most Popular, News Photos, Op/Ed, and Local news....
- PlaneCrashInfo.Com - Swissair Flight 111 Entry
- PBS NOVA: Crash of Flight 111
- The Investigation of Swissair 111 The Nature of Things Canadian Broadcasting CorporationCanadian Broadcasting CorporationThe Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
(Flash movie) - QuickTime-format air-traffic control transmission audio with video diagram
- Esquire July 2000 report “The Long Fall of One-Eleven Heavy” highlighting the human side of the accident
- Lloyd's of LondonLloyd's of LondonLloyd's, also known as Lloyd's of London, is a British insurance and reinsurance market. It serves as a partially mutualised marketplace where multiple financial backers, underwriters, or members, whether individuals or corporations, come together to pool and spread risk...
- "Lloyd's statement regarding Swissair crash site license application." Friday 19 May 2000.
- "Lloyd's statement regarding the Swissair crash site." Tuesday 23 May 2000.