|
Swissair Flight 111 crashed into the
Atlantic Ocean off Peggy’s Cove, near Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, at
approximately 10.35 pm, 2 SEP 98, killing all 229 passengers and crew on
board. The crash started one of the
largest search and rescue efforts in the history of the Province, certainly
since the great explosion in Halifax harbour during WW1. Unfortunately, the operation soon turned
into a search and recovery operation that involved Federal and Provincial
Government agencies and civil organizations like no other event in the history
of the Maritimes. It drew together
people not only from across this country, but from around the world, and would
prove to be a major influence in airline travel safety. The official cause of the crash was
ruled as being accidental fire related. This description of events will simply relate
some of the lessons learned that can be applied to any future crash, no matter
what the cause.
The crash site was located
about 7 miles from the Peggy’s Cove Lighthouse, in about 200 feet of
water. The crash debris,
after fresh water washing, was sorted, examined, and key sections assembled at
the CFB Shearwater ‘A’ Hangar. While
the hangar is large by most standards, it was not high enough for the complete
fuselage diameter of the MD-11, nor was it wide enough or long enough for the
wings and aircraft body.
Early in the file it was realized
that the main focus of the investigation was in the upper forward
cabin and cockpit areas.
So the Province of Nova Scotia Dept of Public Works constructed a metal
frame to the specifications of the fuselage.
It served as a ‘jig’ on which to fasten and hang the various pieces of
debris that were identified as to their original location in the cockpit and
upper forward area of the aircraft.
This ‘jig’ is the black frame at the upper photo’s high center (and in the
lower photo) with parts of
the debris attached.
Several thousand exhibits were
ultimately fixed to the frame. While many items were unique allowing Boeing, Swissair, and other
company representatives to identify them and their location, other pieces had
to be fitted by physically matching them to known pieces. The 'large' pieces of metal frame and skin were
usually no bigger than 25 x 15 cm (10 x 6 in), with the majority being much
smaller. Only a very few were
larger. Each piece was examined and
compared to the other similar pieces until a physical match of the edges was
made. These matches were then
documented, recorded on film and verified for any future court
occurrences. More than 800 skin and
frame physical matches were made. |
|
Extensive gaps appear in the final skin surface on
the main reconstruction jig. Boxes of skin pieces remain in storage
because those pieces could not be positively identified as to their original
location, and therefore they were not added to the jig.
The same procedure was undertaken for the galley
units with three frame jigs being made for them. The three cockpit seats
were also reconstructed in a similar fashion.
Other avionics components were constructed out of plexiglas frames with exhibit
wires, fuses, metal faces, etc. being fastened in place. Individual fuses were located and examined
to determine their position at the time of the crash – either on or off. Even tiny light bulbs from the
instrumentation surfaces were examined to determine whether or not they were on
or off at the time of the crash.
To help in the reconstruction,
several dozen high quality medium format photos enlarged to nearly
actual size were positioned on the walls and on stands around the
hangar. However, these were
found to be extremely limited. So
during three trips to the Swissair hangar in Zurich, Switzerland, several
thousand 35 mm photos were taken with a specialized panorama tripod head. They showed the key aircraft locations at
various stages of maintenance refit, sometimes taking as many as a dozen
panoramas from the exact same position over time to show various stages of
‘undress’. They were then stitched into
panorama views and grouped into a program that could show nearly any area of
the aircraft with and without seats, walls, ceiling, wiring, insulation,
etc. They became a key asset in the
reconstruction of the debris, and this is certainly something that
should be undertaken in any similar type of reconstruction.
Additionally, the reconstructed jigs
of the avionics panels, galleys, & seats along with their exemplar
samples were photographed as object models and included in the
program. For instance, one can view a
forward kitchen galley in its original condition as will as in its post-crash
condition. |
