HALIFAX — Here is a chronology of events in the crash of Swissair Flight 111 and its aftermath:
Sept. 2, 1998
8:18 p.m. EDT — MD-11 jet starts take-off roll on Runway 13R, John F. Kennedy airport, New York, destined for Geneva.
8:47 p.m. — Flight 111 contacts Boston regional air traffic control after unexplained 13-minute radio blackout.
10:10 p.m. ADT — Flight crew detects unusual odour in cockpit.
10:12 p.m. — Decision made to divert and land.
10:13 p.m. — Smoke visible in cockpit.
10:14 p.m. — Pilot declares Pan Pan Pan, international call sign indicating problem that is not yet emergency; crew dons oxygen masks.
10:21:27 p.m. — Pilot informs Moncton he needs to dump fuel before landing.
10:24:42 p.m. — Flight 111 declares an emergency.
10:24:53 p.m. — Crew tells Moncton they are starting fuel dump and must land immediately.
10:25:06 p.m. — Aircraft altitude information disappears from Moncton radar screens.
10:25:40 p.m. — Digital flight data recorder (black box) stops recording information, followed by cockpit voice recorder.
10:26:04 p.m. — Flight 111 disappears from radar screens; last recorded altitude is 9,700 feet.
10:31:22 p.m. — Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Halifax registers seismic event from suspected crash site off Peggy’s Cove, N.S.; all 229 people aboard are killed instantly.
10:39 p.m. — Crash reported to Emergency Health Service’s dispatch centre. Air ambulance and 21 emergency units dispatched, area hospitals put on emergency alert.
Sept. 3, 1998
12:39 a.m. — Rescue aircraft on scene. Search begins, debris spotted.
3:30 a.m. — Hospital alert cancelled.
3:50 a.m. — A woman’s body is pulled from water.
5:45 p.m. — Search officials say 60 body bags have been filled with remains. Navy ships continue patrol for survivors and bodies through the night.
Sept. 4, 1998 — Rescue officials officially acknowledge no survivors, shift to recovery mission.
Sept. 5, 1998 — Private memorial service for families held at a Halifax hotel ballroom. Forensic medical experts collect blood samples from victims’ relatives to compare DNA to help identify remains.
Sept. 6, 1998 — Divers recover flight data recorder.
Sept. 9, 1998 — A non-denominational service is held in Indian Harbour, near Peggy’s Cove. The service was attended by Prime Minister Jean Chretien and Swiss President Flavio Cotti.
Oct. 1, 1998 — U.S. Federal Aviation Administration announces plans to launch review of non-structural aircraft components, including wiring, in 1,837 older planes.
Oct. 29, 1998 — Swissair disconnects inflight entertainment systems in its aircraft after investigators find fire damage, including insulation burned on wires connected to Flight 111’s main electrical power source.
April 9, 1999 — The Nova Scotia government announces that three locations would form a memorial for the victims of Flight 111. A memorial was established at Whalesback, about 500 metres west of Peggy’s Cove on the east side of St. Margarets Bay, and another at Bayswater on the bay’s west side. The actual crash site was also designated as a special place.
Aug. 11, 1999 — Metalized Mylar insulation found to be significant factor in the spread of fire aboard Flight 111.
Aug. 31, 1999 — Two dozen caskets containing the unidentified remains of passengers from the transatlantic flight are buried during service at memorial site in Bayswater, N.S.
Sept. 1, 1999 — Hundreds take part in service remembering the victims at second memorial site near Peggy’s Cove, N.S.
Sept. 29, 1999 — FAA bans the inflight entertainment system used on Flight 111.
March 27, 2003 — Final report into crash of Flight 111 released by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada. The report implicates inflight entertainment system as a cause and clears pilots of wrongdoing.
The Canadian Press
