On September 2, 1998, 229 people died when Swissair flight 111 crashed into the Atlantic off Nova Scotia, the worst accident in Swiss civil aviation history. This film looks back at the tragedy.
This content was published on
1 minute
Français
fr
Le crash du vol 111 de Swissair, un drame qui a marqué la Suisse
The MD-11 aircraft took off from New York at 8:18pm local time, heading for Geneva. Just under an hour later, the pilot and co-pilot detected smoke in the cockpit coming through the air-conditioning system. They requested permission to land and were redirected to the airport at Halifax in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Communication with Halifax ended six minutes before impact with the water. There were no survivors.
This film by Swiss public television, SRF, re-enacts the drama from the point of view of three people on the plane: the captain, a flight attendant and a passenger. Almost 25 years later, their real-life families and colleagues explain how they reacted to the unbelievable news and how they rebuilt their lives. The film also looks at the logistical challenges of piecing the shattered airplane back together in the search for a cause of the crash.
Popular Stories
More
Multinational companies
Azeri fossil-fuel cash cow brings controversy to Switzerland
Is artificial intelligence an advantage or a disadvantage for workers?
What is your experience with AI at work? Have you already used it? Has it helped you work better? Or has it caused you more stress, more work or caused you to lose your job? Tell us about your experiences!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
The Swissair flight 111 crash: causes and consequences
This content was published on
swissinfo.ch looks back at the worst accident in Swiss civil aviation history and the consequences for airline safety and Swissair.
This content was published on
He describes the crash of the MD-11 on September 3, 1998 – the worst in Switzerland’s aviation history – as an “exceptional air catastrophe, a unique case”. Overney had taken the reins at the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau five months beforehand. On September 3, he received a call informing him of a Swissair crash over…
This content was published on
That’s the conclusion of Canadian investigators, who released the results of a four-and-a-half year probe into the incident on Thursday. The investigation, which cost over $50 million (SFr68 million), has generated 23 safety recommendations. Switzerland praised the work of the investigators into the crash, which claimed the lives of many Swiss nationals. André Schrade of…
This content was published on
A year after the crash, which killed all 229 people on board, Zimmermann conquered her fears by returning to her job at 35,000 feet. It took over four and a half years to draw conclusions about what led the MD-11 to plunge into St Margaret’s bay, near Peggy’s Cove in Halifax. But for the families…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.