Report into Swissair crash off N.S. faces delay

Canadian Press
Updated: Thurs. Jul. 11 2002 5:13 AM ET

The fourth anniversary of the Swissair Flight 111 crash will come and go in two months without a final report into the disaster that claimed 229 lives.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada had expected to release its report this year but spokesman Jim Harris said Wednesday the final document won't be ready until early in 2003.

The Boeing MD-11 plunged into St. Margarets Bay, N.S., on Sept.2, 1998, killing all passengers and crew and shattering the jet.

The crash probe is believed to be the most complex and expensive in Canadian history. As of Wednesday, investigation and recovery costs totalled more than $54.8 million.

Harris said that given the nature of the crash, the length of the investigation isn't unusual.

"In this particular case ...the flight recorders stopped six minutes before impact, which means that all of that data was not captured, so that meant that all of the information that we would have normally had is not there, so therefore that makes the job much ...harder," he said.

"Secondly, the aircraft, when it did strike the ocean, is in millions of pieces that made it much more difficult to recover and ...once you did recover it, find out what exactly happened."

Fire damage on some of the wreckage compounded the problem, he said.

Harris noted it took recovery crews almost 15 months to bring the wreckage up from the ocean floor. Crews eventually salvaged 98 per cent of the aircraft by weight.

"You have an awful lot of wreckage which you then have to go through and that all just takes time," Harris said. "It had to be gone through because we didn't have the data from the flight recorder."

Even as investigators have been preparing a draft final report, the probe has continued. But Harris couldn't say if the board has made any recent investigative breakthroughs.

The plane went down 16 minutes after pilot Urs Zimmermann reported smoke in the cockpit.

Wiring has long been a key suspect in sparking a fire that led to a massive electrical failure. But for years, investigators have been trying to determine whether charred wiring found in the wreckage ignited the fire or was burned by another source.

Burnt pieces of both the plane's general purpose wiring and wires leading to a controversial inflight entertainment system later banned by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration were found in the wreckage.

While Harris couldn't say if investigators have come to a conclusion about wiring's role in the disaster, he said it's unlikely just one culprit will be named as the cause.

"It's always a combination of events ...that lead up to an accident like this," he said.

He noted the board has released a number of safety recommendations and advisories over the past four years as the probe has progressed. They have included calls for more stringent testing of electrical wiring used in aircraft, inspection of cockpit wiring on all MD-11s and independent power sources for flight recorders.

In 1999, after investigators determined that metallized Mylar insulation on the plane helped to spread the fire, the FAA ordered U.S.-registered airlines to replace the material within four years.

Harris said a draft final document, written by investigators, is almost complete. After the safety board approves it, it will be confidentially reviewed by key players -- from manufacturers to Swissair itself -- whose products or operations are mentioned.

He said those parties will be able to comment on and correct any factual errors but won't influence investigators' findings on the cause of the crash.

Harris said that after investigators analyse the comments, a final draft report will be prepared.

"It goes back to the board for final approval and then it becomes a public document."

Christopher thank you very much for bringing that article to our attention.

"While Harris couldn't say if investigators have come to a conclusion about wiring's role in the disaster, he said it's unlikely just one culprit will be named as the cause.

"It's always a combination of events ...that lead up to an accident like this," he said."

While Mr. Harris is absolutely right that this tragedy was caused by a chain of events and the factors should and must be addressed, rest assured that there was an igniton source that was the starting point of this terrible disaster and everything possible should be done to state what that was. To many family members, that is very important to know. If it was the IFEN criminal charges must and should be lodged. I wish that the TSB would reveal all information to the families that they have obtained from their investigation regarding the 'entertainment' system. We would know absolutely nothing if it weren't for Tim van Beveren's and David Evans (Air Safety Week) excellent and thorough investigation of the IFEN. It's way beyond the time that the TSB should tell us what they have. We were denied discovery by Judge Giles in Philadelphia which absolutely floors me. Who's side was he on? The answer was obvious but the reasons totally escape me. It's time that those in charge care about the families and innocent victims who have been denied life. I'd like to see the Swiss government show some concern as well. They'd like to bury it in the past but I can assure them we will never forgive or forget... They care enough to trace the money trail after the airline's demise but no concern is shown whatsoever regarding the shady deal that was made regarding the IFEN. Money can be replaced, people can never be. We want answers and we want those responsible held accountable. This is not about being vindictive. This is about justice of which the victims and families (also victims), of this terrible, horrific tragedy deserve.