TODAY IN HISTORY: THE TRAGEDY OF THE SWISSAIR AIRCRAFT
The Sound of Rattling Begins the Tragedy of the Swissair Aircraft that Kills 229 People:
That day, September 2, 1998, the accident struck Swiss airline Air. The aircraft with flight number SR-111 had an accident. The airplane crashed on the coastal sea of Nova Scotia, Canada. As a result all passengers, 229 people were killed.
The plane took off from John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York to Cointrin International Airport Geneva, Switzerland, at night. After a while, precisely at 9:15 p.m., the aircraft pilot reported to the air traffic officer that there was smoke in the cabin.
In this precarious situation, air traffic officers instructed the pilot to make an emergency landing at Halifax International Airport, Canada. While officers at Halifax Airport immediately prepared the area for emergency landings.
But a few minutes later, the air officer lost contact with the pilot, and the plane disappeared from the radar.
A number of witnesses around Halifax Airport claimed to hear a rattling sound followed by a powerful explosion. "This is the worst sound I've ever heard," said a local resident, who lives near the airport area, as quoted from CBC News, Sunday (02/09/2018).
Police officers and rescue teams immediately searched for sources of explosions and tried to rescue. But the plane crashed in the sea in a destroyed condition.
All passengers and crew, totaling 229 people, were declared dead. These include UN officials, namely Jonathan Mann, WHO Director of Health Assistance.
This incident became the worst accident in Swissair history, after a similar incident had occurred in Greece in 1979 and killed 14 people.
Meanwhile, another history recorded on September 2, 166 there was a major fire in London which lasted up to three days. This fire destroyed 10,000 buildings including St. Paul's Cathedral.
Other Today in History events, namely on September 2, 1945, World War II ended with Japan's official surrender on the deck of the USS Missouri ship in Tokyo Bay.