Swissair Flight 111 1998

It was the damn in-flight entertainment screens that had been newly wired into the electrical system.

I survived that flight.

I had relatives in Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia, at the time. Loved ones of the victims turned up in droves and were treated well. The town was ready to get out their pitchforks and torches for the nasty press though, despite all the money they spent at local businesses.

There was a brilliant Howard Hughes Medical Institute cancer researcher on that flight.

I've always thought MD-11s were cool planes.

Yes Elderlez. Worth remembering.

This is the actual plane that crashed. This guy has two videos of being in business class on this plane in 1997 or so- Its very compelling.

This crash had a few researchers/doctors/scientists on it.

It was a very violent crash because the engines were at cruising speed.

That sucks.

Imagine being on a plane, a typical flight thinking you're going to go to your vacation or back home, or seeing loved ones and all the journey entails and destination holds. But something goes horribly wrong and everyone dies. The sudden end of life. Your family and loved ones are sickened beyond grief.

Now imagine a beautiful light of heaven, more loving and peaceful engulfs you, and it's so wonderful that it makes everything on Earth seem like a poor imitation. You start remembering Earth life isn't all there is and you laugh and remember what it's all about. Then they tell you it's not your time you have to go back. You resist and say you want to stay, that Earth sucks. They laugh and tell you it's only for 40 years.

Then you're back in your body pissed as hell. You got to go through the trauma of the wreckage and all the horrible loss. You feel survivor's guilt, especially when you didn't want to be alive. You consider suicide but you know it will be over soon. You start sharing your story at Near Death conferences. You don't care if people believe you anymore, you yourself aren't worried about death. It was so sublimely real you know there's something more going on.

You write all this to offset the grim horror of a world you cannot contemplate: Doubt of some bigger cosmic entity than yourself existing. You choose to override the doubt and believe anyway.

Wait did anyone survive this crash?

A lot of planes out of JFK headed to Europe crashed in those days. I couldn’t get on a transatlantic flight back then without being completely sloshed.

"a lot" is a bit of an exaggeration, r10. TWA 800 crashed in 1996 and maybe that's why it seems common. Two widebody airliners in two years is pretty bad.

[quote] It was the damn in-flight entertainment screens that had been newly wired into the electrical system.

Yeah. Individual IFE screens were a novelty in those days, and Swissair were a precursor. However the plane’s electrical system was not designed to accommodate them all working at the same.time.

I knew a guy who died in that flight. Well, he was a partner in a law firm where I recently started.

He had just closed a big deal with a Swiss company after over a years negotiation. There was a ceremonial signing in Switzerland. He was so happy the deal was finally closed and he was going to Switzerland. He was very cheery when he left that night to head to the airport. We never saw him again.

R11, don't forget that on 31 October 1999, EgyptAir Flight 990 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean while flying from New York City to Cairo.

As in most plane crashes, it is seldom just one thing that brings the plane down (except in the case of pilot suicide and mass murder, which was the case with the Air Egypt crash). The real problem with the Swissair crash was that the supposedly fire retardant mylar lining in the walls wasn't very effective. I can't recall if this was known before the Swissair crash and the mylar was being replaced (but hadn't yet on this plane) or replacement came later. The arcing that took place in the wire should not have caused a catastrophic fire in itself, if I'm not mistaken.

There was a Picasso and a very valuable consignment of diamonds on board. Neither were ever found though , according to video, an extraordinary amount of debris was recovered.

The pilots followed protocol and sort of took their time getting the plane on the ground to prepare the cabin for an emergency landing and to dump fuel for safety. In this case it probably wouldn't have made a difference, but the video suggest that now the protocol is to get the plane on the ground asap if there is sign of fire.

When was the last time such a major aviation incident of this magnitude has happened?

R17, there were quite a few since. The Air India flight in June of this year killed 241 people, Malaysian Air shot down over Ukraine 298 killed, Malaysia Air Flight 370 disappeared with 239 aboard, Air France Flight 447 228 killed, Turkish Airlines Flight 1951 135 died, Spanair Flight 502 154 killed, American Airlines Flight 587 260 killed, GermanWings Flight 9525 150 killed.

R9, no. No one survived.

AA 587 is such a trip…. Imagine having a relative die on that flight and have to clarify, “no, not THAT deadly plane crash in NY in 2001, the OTHER one”. It just seems bizarre.