Anniversary of Swissair disaster marked at Peggy's Cove
Last Updated Mon, 02 Sep 2002 13:09:04
PEGGY'S COVE - Ian Shaw doesn't make a special effort to commemorate the crash of Swissair Flight 111 four years ago. He would rather try to remember his daughter Stephanie every day.

Ian Shaw
"The specific anniversary, sadly, involves concentration on the darkest hours of our relationship with the people we've lost," he said. "And I think it's important that we can go back beyond that and look at the positive hours that we knew."

Shaw moved to Nova Scotia from Switzerland following the crash.

Others who do choose to mark the day came to Peggy's Cove to gather along with locals Monday morning. A prayer service was held at a memorial overlooking St. Margarets Bay.

Swissair 111 slammed into the Atlantic Ocean off Peggy's Cove on Sept. 2, 1998, as it was getting ready for an emergency landing at Halifax International Airport. All 229 people on board died.

Investigators know that a catastrophic fire broke out on board the Boeing MD-11, filling the cabin with toxic smoke and destabilizing the jet in the minutes before the crash.

Canada's Transportation Safety Board won't release the final report on the crash, which will hopefully point to the fire's cause, until next year. Wiring inside the plane has long been suspected.

http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2002/09/02/swissair_mem020902

I couldn't agree more with Mr. Shaw.