Remembering Swiss Air Flight 111

SWISS AIR AIRBUS A320-271N HB-JDA (9246)

Swissair Flight 111 was a scheduled international passenger flight from New York-John F. Kennedy International Airport, NY (JFK/KJFK), United States of America to Genève-Cointrin Airport (GVA/LSGG), Switzerland. On the 2nd of September 1998, the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 performing this flight crashed into the Atlantic Ocean southwest of Halifax Stanfield International Airport at the entrance to St. Margaret's Bay, Nova Scotia. The crash site was 8 kilometers (5 miles) from shore. 

All 229 passengers and crew on board the MD-11 were killed, making the crash the deadliest McDonnell Douglas MD-11 accident in history.

At 20:18 Swissair flight SR 111, departed New York-JFK Airport (JFK/KJFK) on a flight to Geneva Switzerland (GVA/LSGG). Forty minutes later the copilot contacted Moncton ACC, reporting FL330. At 21:10 the pilots detected an unusual odour in the cockpit and began to investigate. They determined that some smoke was present in the cockpit, but not in the passenger cabin. Four minutes later a Pan Pan Pan radio call was made to Moncton ACC. The pilots reported that there was smoke in the cockpit and requested an immediate return to a convenient place. The pilots named Boston, which was about 300 nm behind them.

At 21:24, both pilots almost simultaneously declared an emergency. The co-pilot indicated to the controller that they were starting to dump fuel and that they had to land immediately. Last radio contact was one minute later when they again declared an emergency. By now the fire had propagated, causing severe disturbances of the electric system. In the last minutes of the flight, the electronic navigation equipment and communications radios stopped operating. The aircraft descended over the dark waters off the coast of Nova Scotia until it stuck the water in a 20 degrees nose down and 110 degrees right bank.

The search and rescue response, crash recovery operation, and investigation by the Government of Canada took more than four years and cost CA$57 million. The investigation carried out by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) concluded that flammable material used in the aircraft's structure allowed a fire to spread beyond the control of the crew, resulting in the crash of the aircraft. Several wide-ranging recommendations were made which have been incorporated into new US Federal Aviation Administration standards.

Swissair Flight 111 was known as the "UN shuttle" because of its popularity with United Nations officials traveling between the organization's two biggest centers. The flight also carried business executives, scientists, and researchers.

Aircraft Information:

Airline: Swiss Air

Code: SR/SWR

Aircraft: McDonnell Douglas MD-11

Registration: HB-IWF

Serial Number: 36041

Engines: 3 Pratt & Whitney PW4462

First Flew: 01/06/1991