Swissair flight 111

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Swissair flight 111
28as - Swissair MD-11; HB-IWF @ ZRH; 07/14/1998 (4713082874) .jpg

The crashed HB-IMF in July 1998 in Zurich
Accident summary
Accident type Loss of control due to instrument failure due to fire
place Atlantic Ocean off Peggy's CoveCanadaCanada
date September 2, 1998
Fatalities 229
Survivors 0
Aircraft
Aircraft type McDonnell Douglas MD-11
operator Swissair (SR)
Mark HB-IMF
Departure airport United StatesUnited States John F. Kennedy International Airport , New York City , New York , USA
Destination airport SwitzerlandSwitzerland Geneva Cointrin Airport , Geneva , Switzerland
Passengers 215
crew 14th
Lists of aviation accidents

On September 2, 1998, a McDonnell Douglas MD-11 ( aircraft registration : HB-IWF) crashed into the Atlantic on Swissair Flight 111 from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport to Geneva off Peggy's Cove , Canada , after it became one Cable fire in the on-board electronics. In this worst accident involving Swissair and an MD-11, all 215 passengers and 14 crew members were killed.

It was the worst air accident over Canadian territory since the crash of Arrow Air Flight 1285 on December 12, 1985; at that time all 256 people died on board. In addition, Swissair flight 111 is still the most serious incident of an airline from the German-speaking area.

Flight history

All times after UTC

00:18 (20:18 local time): Swissair flight SR 111 takes off on schedule from John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK) in New York , USA , to Geneva . In addition to the two pilots, there are 215 passengers and 12 flight attendants on board.

00:58: SR 111 reaches its cruising altitude of 33,000 feet without incident .

01:10:38: The pilots notice an unusual smell in the cockpit and start looking for the cause. After a short conversation they lead him back to the air conditioning system ( “Air conditioning, is it?” - “Yes” ).

01:13:14: Smoke in the cockpit.

01:13:33: The pilots discuss possible alternative airports.

01:13:53: The captain's comment: “That doesn't look good up here” ( “That's not doing well at all up there.” ).

01:14:15: SR 111 sends pan-pan (a high priority radio call) to the relevant aviation control center in Moncton , Canada. The MD-11 is 66 nautical miles southwest of Halifax International Airport in Halifax , Canada at the time . One of the pilots reports smoke in the cockpit and asks for clearance to land at the nearest possible airport. He suggests Boston , Massachusetts , which is 300 nautical miles away at the time. SR 111 received clearance to Boston from Moncton and was assigned an altitude of 31,000 feet.

01:15:06: Air traffic control suggests the pilots fly to Halifax. Halifax is 56 nautical miles northeast. The crew accepts and receives approval. Both pilots put on their oxygen masks .

01:16:34: Air traffic control gives clearance for the descent to 10,000 feet and inquires about the number of passengers and the remaining fuel on board in order to forward the data to Halifax.

01:17:19: The MD-11 is sinking at 4,000 feet per minute with the air brakes fully deployed .

01:18:17: SR 111 is asked to contact the ground control in Moncton. SR 111 immediately changes the radio frequency and logs on. The altitude is now 25,400 feet, heading 050 towards Halifax. The ground control in Moncton gives clearance to descend to 3,000 feet. The crew asks for 8,000 feet until the cabin crew is ready to land. That is confirmed.

01:19:28: Air traffic control instructs SR 111 to turn on course 030 for an approach to runway 06. SR 111 is now 30 nautical miles from the Halifax runway. The aircraft descends to 21,000 feet and the crew announces that the remaining 30 nautical miles are insufficient for the descent. Air traffic control instructs you to turn on course 360 ​​so you can lose altitude in a loop.

01:20:48: The pilots decide to drain the fuel before landing .

01:21:20: Air traffic control asks a second time about the number of passengers and the amount of fuel on board. The crew reports that there are 230 tons of fuel on board (in fact, the total weight of the aircraft was 230 tons).

01:22:01: SR 111 turns south-southwest on course 200 to let off fuel over the sea. The plane is now 25 nautical miles from Halifax.

01:22:01: The co-pilot reduces the rate of descent and applies the air brakes . The aircraft comes into level flight between 10,150 and 10,300 feet.

01:23:30: The air traffic controller in Moncton names 180 as the new heading and informs the crew that the coast is still 15 nautical miles away. At this point the airport is 34 nautical miles away.

01:24:01: The co-pilot asks the air traffic controller for the command to drain the fuel.

01:24:09: The autopilot on board the MD-11 switches off. A warning tone sounds in the cockpit.

01:24:25: The co-pilot informs Moncton that he is now flying manually and asks for an altitude window of 9,000 to 11,000 feet. The air traffic controller allows SR 111 an altitude of between 5,000 and 12,000 feet.

01:24:42: Both pilots report an emergency at the same time (" Emergency Call ", highest priority, which means immediate danger to life and limb). Air traffic control confirms receipt.

01:24:46: The cabin crew of the MD-11 informs the captain about a power failure in the passenger compartment.

01:24:53: SR 111 announces that they will start draining the fuel and then land immediately ( “we have to land immediate…” ).

01:24:54: The flight data recorder logs the failure of the yaw damper .

01:25:02: The crew declares an emergency again, which air traffic control confirms.

Between 01:25:06 and 01:25:14: one after the other, all important display instruments in the cockpit fail.

01:25:12: The recording of the flight data recorder stops.

01:25:16: Air traffic control gives permission to drain the fuel. SR 111 does not answer.

01:25:40: Air traffic control repeats the permission to drain the fuel. No Answer.

01:25:46: The ground control in Moncton receives incomprehensible scraps of conversation (probably in Swiss German), which probably originate from flight SR 111.

approx. 01:30 am: In the area of ​​St. Margaret's Bay, Nova Scotia , a large aircraft is observed flying low. The engines can be heard clearly.

01:31:18: The MD-11 crashes into the sea at a speed of almost 300 knots (555 km / h). A load of 350 g occurs. Ear witnesses report a loud bang. Seismographs record a tremor at this time.

approx. 02:30 am: The first rescue workers arrive, they only find corpses and rubble from SR 111.

Facts

The pilots

The pilot in charge (flight captain) Urs Zimmermann was 49 years old and had 10,800 flight hours at the time of the crash, 900 of them on the MD-11. He had been with Swissair since 1971, since 1983 as the pilot in charge. In 1994 he became an instructor for Airbus - and later for MD-11 pilots. There had never been any incidents during his tenure. The first officer (copilot) Stephan Löw was 36 years old and had spent 230 of his 4800 flight hours on this type. He had been with Swissair since 1991. In May of that year he had received the flight type rating for the MD-11. There were no incidents during his service either.

Both pilots were in good health at the time of the accident. Before the flight they had 27 hours of rest.

The air traffic controllers

The air traffic controller responsible for upper airspace in Moncton, Canada was 32 years old and had 9 years of professional experience. At the time of radio communication with SR 111, he had been on duty for 5 hours, before that he had 72 hours off. At 01:18:11 UTC he handed the flight over to ground control, which was to accompany the approach to Halifax. The air traffic controller there was 51 years old and had worked in Moncton for 26 years. At the time of the incident, he had been on duty for 8 hours, before that he had 16 hours off.

Both pilots had all the necessary qualifications. Air traffic was low at the time of the crash.

The plane

The plane involved in the accident was a McDonnell Douglas Corporation MD-11 passenger aircraft . It was equipped with three Pratt & Whitney 4462 engines and had the serial number 48448 .

The machine was delivered new to Swissair on August 5, 1991 and received the aircraft registration HB-IWF . Until the accident, she had made a total of 36,041 flight hours. It was equipped with 241 seats, 12 of them in the first class, 49 in the business class and 180 in the economy class.

List of victims sorted by nationality
nationality Passengers crew total
AfghanistanAfghanistan Afghanistan 1 0 1
EgyptEgypt Egypt 1 0 1
China People's RepublicPeople's Republic of China People's Republic of China 1 0 1
GermanyGermany Germany 1 0 1
FranceFrance France 41 0 41
FranceFrance France and United StatesUnited StatesUnited States  2 0 2
FranceFrance France and United KingdomUnited KingdomUnited Kingdom  1 0 1
GreeceGreece Greece 1 0 1
GreeceGreece Greece and United StatesUnited StatesUnited States  1 0 1
IndiaIndia India 1 0 1
IranIran Iran 1 0 1
IranIran Iran and United StatesUnited StatesUnited States  1 0 1
IsraelIsrael Israel and SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland  1 0 1
ItalyItaly Italy 3 0 3
Yugoslavia Socialist Federal RepublicYugoslavia Yugoslavia 1 0 1
CanadaCanada Canada 3 0 3
CanadaCanada Canada and MoroccoMoroccoMorocco  1 0 1
MexicoMexico Mexico 1 0 1
RussiaRussia Russia 1 0 1
Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia Saudi Arabia 1 0 1
SwitzerlandSwitzerland Switzerland 31 13 44
SwitzerlandSwitzerland Switzerland and the NetherlandsNetherlandsNetherlands  1 0 1
SwitzerlandSwitzerland Switzerland and United KingdomUnited KingdomUnited Kingdom  2 0 2
SwitzerlandSwitzerland Switzerland and United StatesUnited StatesUnited States  1 0 1
SpainSpain Spain 1 0 1
United KingdomUnited Kingdom United Kingdom 3 0 3
United KingdomUnited Kingdom United Kingdom and United StatesUnited StatesUnited States  2 0 2
United StatesUnited States United States 110 1 111
Total 215 14th 229

Aircraft accident investigation

The investigation into the accident lasted over four years and cost $ 39 million. At times, more than 4000 people were busy with the rescue. In addition to the leading Canadian transport safety authority, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB), representatives of the American and Swiss air traffic control and Swissair as well as the companies Boeing (as legal successor to McDonnell Douglas ) and the engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney , as well as pilot associations and insurance companies were involved.

The MD-11 was torn into several thousand pieces when it hit the surface of the water. Most dropped to the sea floor in about 55 feet of water at 44 ° 24 '32.9 "  N , 63 ° 58' 25"  W coordinates: 44 ° 24 '32.9 "  N , 63 ° 58' 25"  W . The submarine debris field was 125 meters long and 95 meters wide. 126.5 tons of debris were recovered, which corresponds to 98% of the aircraft's mass. The recovery of the wreckage took 15 months. In December 1999 the last small parts were removed from the seabed with the help of a suction dredger .

On March 27, 2003, the TSB in Halifax presented the final accident report. He testified that a short circuit - triggered by the broken insulation of a copper cable behind the upper cockpit fairing - had ignited the neighboring thermal sound insulation. The cable in question supplied the in-flight entertainment system IFEN ( In-flight Entertainment Network) with power. The guests of the first class and the business class could watch videos or play computer games at their seats via the IFEN.

The investigation report found that the MPET coating of the insulation material installed in the aircraft and other parts were not sufficiently fireproof. Therefore, the fire was initially able to spread unnoticed. Then he destroyed the leads of important cockpit instruments, so that the pilots lost their bearings in the darkness over the sea. 6 minutes before the crash, the data line to the flight data recorder in the stern also scorched, which made reconstructing the accident even more difficult.

As a result of the accident, the TSB issued 23 safety recommendations. It recommended new standards for material tests for fire resistance, also the use of fire alarms in aircraft cockpits and the installation of video cameras in cavities. In addition, flight personnel should be better trained to fight fires.

On December 25, 2003, the Federal Aviation Office in Braunschweig ordered the replacement of all MPET-coated insulation for aircraft in Germany as a consequence of the disaster.

filming

Memorial for Swissair Flight 111 at Peggy's Cove

The disaster of Swissair flight 111 was shown in the Canadian television series Mayday - Alarm im Cockpit with the English title Fire on Board and the German title Swissair, flight 111 . In simulated scenes, animations and interviews with bereaved relatives and investigators, reports were made about the preparations, the process and the background of the flight. In a further cinematic processing, the incident was shown in the American television series seconds before the accident in the episode Fire in the cockpit . Another documentary film is FIRE ON BOARD - The tragedy of Swissair Flight 111 of the Swiss Radio and Television .

controversy

In a documentary broadcast by the Canadian television broadcaster CBC on September 16, 2011, the investigative authority TSB is accused of neglecting the hypothesis of an assassination attempt or of even having prevented any investigation in this direction. Ten times the expected amount of magnesium is said to have been found in the wreck . Magnesium is considered a typical fire accelerator . The objection to this representation is that it is based on the statements of a single person, the chief investigator at the time. In addition, there was speculation about a cargo of diamonds, none of which turned up during the salvage operations. This was considered an indication of insurance fraud. According to the CBC report, the thesis of an attack was also supported by a senior scientist who detected the magnesium in the wreckage. He also stated that his findings and information had been relativized in an irrelevant way. The documentary was not shown on Swiss television because it was based too much on speculation.

See also

  • Beatrice Tschanz , headed the crisis communication at Swiss-Air after the accident

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Marc Tribelhorn: Todesflug SR 111 In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung of September 1, 2018
  2. ↑ http://www.iasa-intl.com/folders/denoue/washingtonpost_com.html
  3. ↑ https://www.austrianwings.info/2013/09/mayday-ueber-dem-atlantik-der-schicksalsflug-von-sr-111/
  4. ↑ McDonnell Douglas MD-11 - MSN 48448 , on airfleets.net, accessed February 2, 2013
  5. ^ Names of Swissair crash victims. In: CNN World of September 7, 1998
  6. ↑ Bernadette Calonego: Documentary feeds doubts about accident theory. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung of September 19, 2011, accessed on February 2, 2013
  7. ↑ Beat Bumbacher: A lone fighter doesn't want to rest. In: NZZ of September 17, 2011, accessed on February 2, 2013
  8. ^ Swissair 111: The Untold Story. In: CBC / Radio-Canada of September 15, 2011 (CBC reporting on the background to the investigations), accessed on February 2, 2013

Web links

Commons : Swissair flight 111  - Collection of images, videos and audio files