Final report on Swissair crash not expected before 2002
Relatives and friends of the 229 people who died when a Swissair jet crashed off the coast of Canada nearly three years ago will have to wait at least another year to find out what caused the accident.
Canadian investigators say so much work still remains to be done that the final report into the tragedy will not be ready until 2002 at the earliest.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) told the Canadian Press news agency that the complexity of the investigation meant it was taking a long time to gather all the facts.
The final document will comprise 11 reports on specific aspects of the enquiry, including the fire on board the plane, the navigation system, the emergency manoeuvres made by the crew and their conduct during the emergency. Some of those reports have already been finalised.
The investigation has so far cost 50 million Canadian dollars (SFr58 million).
The Swissair MD-11 came down near Peggy’s Cove on the Nova Scotia coast on September 2, 1988. Everyone on board was killed.
The force of the crash broke the plane into more than two million pieces, and investigators say it will not be possible to determine exactly what went wrong. It’s believed faulty wiring may have triggered a fire in the cockpit area.
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