Late in the evening of September 2, 1998, a McDonnell Douglas MD-11 on Swissair Flight 111 met its catastrophic end. After a devastating cable fire broke out in the aircraft's electronics, the flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off Peggy's Cove, Canada. This accident will be remembered as one of the deadliest accidents in the history of Swissair and MD-11. All 229 people were killed.
The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 was a widely used long-range aircraft known for its performance and reliability. On that fateful day, the aircraft, registration HB-IWF, was carrying 215 passengers and 14 crew members into the Atlantic Ocean. The origin of the fatal accident was a cable fire in the aircraft's avionics, a crucial area of the aircraft responsible for controlling and monitoring numerous functions. The exact circumstances leading to this fire were later intensively investigated.
Swissair, the Swiss airline known for its high safety and service standards, suffered the worst accident in its history with this crash. The devastating tragedy of Flight 111, which claimed the lives of all passengers and crew on board, was a dark moment in the airline's long and distinguished history. The investigation and the lessons learned should provide the airline and the entire industry with important lessons for the future.
On September 3, 1998, the day after the crash, Swiss television's Tagesschau, SF DRS, reported extensively on the accident. The program, hosted by Beatrice Müller, provided a comprehensive overview of the events and the subsequent investigation. The report generated deep sympathy worldwide and raised public awareness of the dangers and ongoing efforts to improve aviation safety.
Copyright: SRG SSR, 1998