Original subtitles

FLIGHT INTERCOM: Ladies and gentlemen,

we are starting our approach.

FLIGHT CREW: We lost both engines.

FLIGHT INTERCOM: Put the mask over your nose.

Emergency descent. FLIGHT CREW: Mayday!

Mayday?

It's going to crash!

NARRATOR: In 1998, off Canada's East Coast,

a modern passenger jet, run by one

of the world's best airlines, catches fire at 33,000 feet.

FLIGHT CREW: Swissair 111, we are dumping fuel now,

and we must land immediately.

NARRATOR: In its final six minutes,

communications from the cockpit cease.

FLIGHT CREW: It's gaining already.

NARRATOR: Then the plane plummets into the ocean.

229 people are dead.

What caused the fire is a mystery.

RADIO REPORTER: Many of the vessels

reported to the Canadian Navy vessel standing by on scene

that they were finding bodies, and making repeated requests

for more body bags, and get the bodies that were on their boats

off.

NARRATOR: The search for answers led

to one of the largest investigations

in aviation history.

And was a wake-up call for the entire airline industry,

to ensure that what happened aboard Swissair 111

would never happen again.

This accident investigation was

a unique opportunity to assess the materials in airplanes.

The problem is not only just the stuff that can burn,

but the fact you can't see it.

When you really have fire on board,

the clock is running against you.

FLIGHT CREW: Good morning, Wisconsin.

392--

NARRATOR: September 2, 1998.

Swissair flight 111 prepares to depart

New York's JFK International Airport en route

to Geneva, Switzerland.

The aircraft was a McDonnell Douglas 11, or MD-11,

a model first developed in 1986 as a highly

automated modern replacement of the antiquated DC-10.

It was considered one of the most reliable passenger jets

in the skies.

And Swissair pilots were among the world's best trained.

FLIGHT CREW: OK, after start checklist.

Engine anti-ice.

Not required.

Roger.

Not required.

Auto brakes?

Take off?

NARRATOR: Swissair 111's pilots were Captain Urs Zimmerman,

and first officer Stefan Lowe.

Swissair 111, hold short.

3, 1 left.

NARRATOR: Zimmerman encouraged an easygoing atmosphere

in the cockpit.

But he was also known for his by-the-book precision.

When not flying, he was an instructor

of new pilots for Switzerland's national airline.

Flaps and slats, flaps set 15 degrees, set at 15.

NARRATOR: On board, were 215 passengers,

12 crew, and two pilots.

Most were French, American, or Swiss.

23-year-old Stephanie Shaw was on her way home

to her parents in Geneva.

Stephanie was blessed in many ways.

She was physically very attractive.

She was an intelligent girl.

She-- the reason she went to New York

was that she had been invited to become

a member of the World Economic Forum,

which is based in Geneva.

And she wanted to have this trip before she joined.

She was a darling, an absolute darling.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL: Swissair 111 heavy.

Clear for takeoff.

Cleared for takeoff.

Roger, Swissair 111.

NARRATOR: For safety, the Swissair pilots

push the throttle forward together,

ensuring no single pilot can botch a takeoff.

VR B2.

NARRATOR: Swissair flight 111 lifted off

and made his way Northeast toward the open Atlantic.

Atlantic air traffic is handled by a remote center in Moncton,

New Brunswick, Canada.

Almost half an hour after takeoff, Captain Zimmerman

made his first communication with Moncton.

Moncton Center, Swissair 111 heavy.

Good evening, level 330.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL: Swissair 111 heavy, Moncton Center.

Good evening.

Reports of occasional light turbulence at all levels.

Moncton Swissair.

NARRATOR: It was a perfectly normal transatlantic crossing.

In first class, Swissair passengers were among the first

in the world to have a personalized in-flight

entertainment network.

Though now common, the system was an innovation in 1998.

Passengers could choose their own movie, browse the internet,

and gamble.

They evaluated the market, and they thought that introducing

a modern in-flight entertainment system,

combined with a gambling system so that passengers actually can

use their credit card and gamble during long range flights would

make them more attractive.

NARRATOR: This luxury would be the source

of controversy to come.

Do you smell something?

Yeah, what is that?

Go have a look.

I'll take the controls. - Roger.

You have control.

NARRATOR: First officer Lowe investigates the area

near the air conditioner vent, harmless smoke

traces from air conditioning systems

are common on commercial jets.

I don't see anything, Urs. And there's nothing up there now.

You yelled for me, Captain?

Stefan and I were sure we smelled

smoke a few seconds ago.

Can you smell anything?

I smell it too.

Yeah.

Could you smell it in the cabin before you came in?

No.

Definitely not.

NARRATOR: They agree the air conditioner

was the likely culprit.

Can't see it or smell it anymore.

Air conditioning is it?

Yeah.

Please close it.

Thanks.

NARRATOR: Behind the sealed panel,

the pilots could not see that the problem was getting worse.

Less than 45 seconds after smoke disappeared in the cockpit

of Swissair 111, it returned.

Zimmerman followed Swissair procedure.

There it is again.

NARRATOR: He made plans to divert to the nearest place

to land.

Find the closest place to land, Stefan.

We'll need the nav charts from the library,

also weather data for the area.

Boston's close.

It's not doing well at all up there.

NARRATOR: Zimmerman radioed air traffic control

in Moncton, New Brunswick.

Moncton Center, Swissair 111 heavy.

Good evening.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL: United 920 heavy Moncton Center.

Good evening.

NARRATOR: The controller dealt with another aircraft

before responding to Swissair.

Other aircraft calling say again?

Swissair 111 heavy is declaring pan-pan-pan.

We have smoke in the cockpit.

Request immediate return to a convenient place,

I guess Boston?

NARRATOR: Pan-pan-pan is an international term

used to notify air traffic control of an urgent situation.

One step below declaring mayday.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL: You said, Boston, you want to go?

I guess Boston.

We need first the weather there.

We are starting right turn here, Swissair 111 heavy.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL: Swissair 111, Roger.

And descent to flight level 310.

310.

310 Swissair 111 heavy.

NARRATOR: This is the first interview with one in the air

traffic controllers in Moncton.

My name is Bill Pickrell.

And on September 1998, September 2, 1998,

I was one of two Halifax terminal controllers

working the evening shift.

The pan and any kind of a special condition

is usually dealt with as an emergency.

And this, in fact, was dealt with that way.

The aircraft was immediately given priority,

and the high level supervisor initiated a call to the Rescue

Coordination Center.

NARRATOR: Pickrell's colleague determined that Swissair

111 was just 66 nautical miles from Halifax,

and 300 from Boston.

But Captain Zimmerman had chosen an airport he knew.

A lot of times when you're having a problem,

you would rather be dealing with an issue

where you're much more familiar with the airport,

because that relieves a little stress on you.

His initial problem, he's sitting there.

He's looking up there, and he's trying to think,

well, I've got smoke here.

Now what does it mean?

Let's see.

Where are we?

Where's the closest place I can go to that I can

talk to a Swissair mechanic?

Boston.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL: Swissair 111 Center.

Swissair 111 heavy. Go ahead.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL: Would you prefer to go into Halifax?

Urs, we better put the masks on.

Standby.

NARRATOR: Realizing their location,

Zimmerman decided Halifax was now the best option.

Affirmative Swissair 111 heavy.

We prefer Halifax from our position.

Swissair 111, Roger.

Proceed direct to Halifax, descend now to flight level

290.

Level 290 to Halifax, Swissair 111 heavy.

Swissair 111 heavy, yeah, we have the oxygen masks on.

Go ahead with the weather.

NARRATOR: Swissair 111 starts its descent

to below 30,000 feet, the pilots calm and in control.

It would take about 20 minutes to reach Halifax.

Roger, Swissair 111 heavy.

We copy, 2980.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL: Swissair 111,

you're clear to 10,000 feet.

And the Halifax altimeter is 2980.

Swissair 111 heavy, 2980 at 10,000 feet.

And Swissair 111, can you tell me what your fuel on board is?

Standby for this.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL: Speedbird 1506

is at Tusky, listening out.

Speedbird 1506, Roger.

Swissair 111--

NARRATOR: The controller signs off with another aircraft.

His jurisdiction was high altitude flights.

As Swissair was on descent to Halifax,

he hands over responsibility to Bill Pickrell.

At that point, everything was normal.

I gave the pilot an initial descent,

and he requested to level off at an intermediate altitude

to get the cabin in order for the landing, which I took

to mean that they needed to pack away dinner trays,

and things like that.

It was an indication to me that while his situation was

unusual, that they weren't considering it

as an emergency at that time.

Watch your speed, Stefan.

Don't descend too fast.

Roger.

Yes, captain.

We have smoke in the cockpit here.

Have the cabin crew prepare for landing.

We'll be setting down in Halifax in about 20 minutes.

I'm about to start the checklist here.

Yes, Captain Zimmerman.

NARRATOR: Zimmerman has two checklists

for smoke in the cockpit.

To complete both will take 20 minutes.

But this is Swissair company policy.

In the meantime, Lowe continued the descent into Halifax.

Stefan, I'll need you to handle the radio

while I do this checklist.

All right 119.2 for the Swissair 111 heavy.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL: Roger.

NARRATOR: Swissair 111 is now at about 25,000 feet.

Pickrell advises them to descend to 3,000 feet.

But first officer Lowe says he'd rather

fly at 8,000 until the passenger cabin was cleared.

050.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL: Swissair 111.

NARRATOR: Their attitude underscored the sense

of control in the cockpit.

2979.

We went--

BILL PICKRELL: From my point of view,

it gave all initial appearances that it should be a fairly

straightforward operation.

That assuming that everything happened normally,

the aircraft would require a minimum of handling

to lead them into Halifax.

NARRATOR: Captain Zimmerman needed information

for the unfamiliar airfield.

But his flight bag is out of reach.

He summoned the flight attendant to help.

You hailed me, Captain.

For two minutes now, I need that flight bag there.

It's got the approach charts for Halifax.

OK.

Get back to your crew.

Yes, Captain.

This is your Maitre d' cabin speaking.

NARRATOR: The chief flight attendant notified passengers

that the flight was diverted.

Please note the seat-belt sign--

NARRATOR: There was no panic.

The plane was flying normally.

And there was no sign of smoke in the cabin.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL: Swissair 111, the localizer frequency

is 109.9.

You've got 30 miles to fly to the threshold.

We're going to need more than 30 miles.

NARRATOR: But still at more than 20,000 feet,

Swissair 111 was too high to make

a landing in just 30 miles.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL: The frequency

is 109.9 for the localizer.

OK, Roger.

109.9, and we are turning left heading

North, Swissair 111 heavy.

And we've got to dump fuel.

Agreed.

NARRATOR: So far, communications from Swissair have been calm.

Still, Moncton Center initiated emergency efforts

at Halifax Airport.

Preparing ground crews for an emergency,

Pickrell sought information from the pilots.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL: Swissair 111, do you have time,

could I have your number of souls on board,

and your fuel on board, please, for emergency services?

Roger.

At this time fuel on board is 230 tons.

We have to dump some fuel.

May we do that in this area during descent?

NARRATOR: Pickrell is surprised to learn so late that Swissair

111 needed to dump fuel.

At that point, it became more of a complicated situation.

In fact, with every transmission after that,

it became more and more complicated.

NARRATOR: Pickrell considered his options

for a safe place that wouldn't take the aircraft too

far from Halifax.

He decided to direct the plane over St Margaret's Bay,

about 30 miles from the airport.

The other choice, if he had said he needed to stay close,

was to start the aircraft in a right-hand turn to set them up

for any of the other runways.

I had to keep him flying in a circle or a constant track,

so that he wouldn't fly back into his own fuel,

which would have been not good.

NARRATOR: Dumping fuel is standard procedure.

A fully fueled passenger jet is too heavy,

and could break up on landing.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL: Are you able to take a turn back--

NARRATOR: But co-pilot Lowe wondered

if given their situation they might forgo the regulations.

They want us to turn to the South.

Should we just forget about dumping and just land?

No.

Dump it.

OK.

We are able for a left or right turn to the South

in order to dump.

I initiated the vector back toward St Margaret's Bay

to start him in that direction.

It indicated to me that, again, it wasn't

a critical situation on board.

Then, in fact, he did have time to be able to go back and dump

his fuel over the water.

Swissair 111, Roger.

Turn left, heading of 200 degrees

and advise me when you're ready to dump.

It will be about 10 miles before you're off the coast.

You will still be within about 25 miles of the airport.

FLIGHT CREW: Roger, we are turning left 200.

In that case, we are going to descend to only 10,000 feet

in order to dump the fuel.

Roger.

Maintain 10,000.

I'll advise you when you're over the water.

It will be very shortly.

Roger.

NARRATOR: While Zimmerman continued with his checklist.

Lowe accidentally transmits to Bill Pickrell in Moncton.

Are you in the emergency checklist

for air conditioning smoke?

Yes.

Swissair 111, say again, please.

Sorry that was not for you.

Swissair 111 was asking internally.

OK.

Airspeed is decreasing below 306, level off speed here.

Just fly the plane as you see fit, Stefan.

Swissair 111, continue left heading 180.

You'll be off the coast in about 15 miles.

Left hang 180, Roger.

Swissair 111, and maintaining at 10,000 feet.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL: Roger.

Cabin bus off.

Cabin bus off, Roger.

NARRATOR: The cabin bus switch knocked out

all the lighting in the cabin.

It was an indication for the passengers aboard

that something was wrong, but hardly alarming.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have temporarily

lost the lights in the cabin.

Please remain calm.

The crew will be coming around with flashlights

to assist in landing.

NARRATOR: Despite a cockpit filled with smoke,

there is still no trace of it in the passenger cabin.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL: You will be staying within about 35,

40 miles of the airport, if you have to get

back to the airport in a hurry.

OK.

That's fine with us.

Please tell us when we can start to dump the fuel.

NARRATOR: Suddenly, the aircraft sent out a warning

that the smoke was a sign of a more

serious problem on flight 111.

Autopilot disconnect.

Copy that.

Autopilot disconnect.

Swissair 111--

NARRATOR: The autopilot disconnected,

because the plane's computer sensed erratic readings.

In the next 90 seconds, those readings went haywire.

11,000 and 9,000 feet.

Swissair 111, you can block between 5,000 and 12,000

if you wish.

NARRATOR: One by one the instruments failed.

The calm in the cockpit dissolved.

Copy that!

We are clear between 12,000 and 5,000 feet.

We are declaring emergency now.

Swissair 111 at time 01:24.

NARRATOR: Then the two pilots speak simultaneously.

Combined with other distractions in the control room,

Pickrell is unable to hear a critical transmission,

Lowe's declaration that they must land immediately.

We are dumping fuel now.

We must land immediate.

Swissair 111, just a couple more miles.

I'll be right with you.

Roger that.

And we're declaring emergency.

Now Swissair 111.

NARRATOR: Missing this transmission is a moment

Bill Pickrell relives today.

I'm not sure that it's a feeling that you

can adequately describe.

I recall reviewing the events of that night a thousand times

to determine if there was something additionally that I

could have done, or if there was some mistake that I

might have made, or was there any way

that I contributed to this.

And eventually, I was able to come to the point

of realization that there wasn't anything

that I could have done, and that everything that could have,

was done.

NARRATOR: Now, there was nothing to do but wait.

I'm just flying, nothing else.

NARRATOR: 30 seconds after declaring an emergency,

the pilots of Swissair 111 faced an inferno.

All my screens are down.

I'm flying on standby instruments.

Maintaining 300.

Swissair 111, you are cleared to commence

your fuel dump on that track, and advise

me when your dump is complete.

BILL PICKRELL: Soon after I gave him

authorization to commence the fuel dump,

there was no acknowledgment.

Initially, I wasn't concerned by that

because I considered that he was probably doing the fuel dump.

He was reviewing a checklist, he was busy doing things.

And as for our training, we're told not to bother the pilots

in those kinds of situations.

Swissair 111 check, you are cleared to start the fuel dump.

NARRATOR: There was no further communication

from the aircraft.

Six minutes later, residents of Peggy's Cove

heard a devastating explosion.

No one knew what had happened to 229 people

after six minutes of silence.

BILL PICKRELL: It was probably one of the most helpless

feelings that any individual can have, not being able to do

anything but just sit and watch the target,

and hope that it would turn back toward the airport.

And of course, it didn't.

The following morning, would-be rescuers

glimpsed the terrible remains of Swissair 111.

Only one body was discovered intact.

In Geneva, Ian Shaw has a premonition

about his 23-year-old daughter, Stephanie.

That night, the night on which she was due to return,

for reasons I can't explain even now, I was restless,

and I was disturbed.

And I slept early and woke while my wife was still awake,

and asked her if she had heard news of Stephanie.

No, she had not.

But she didn't expect to have news of Stephanie.

We knew she was coming on that flight,

and that she would certainly expect me to be at the airport

to fetch her in the morning.

I awoke around 6:00 Geneva time, and

on television there was a report of the crash of Swissair 111.

And I knew instantaneously that we had lost our daughter.

NARRATOR: Air traffic controller Bill Pickrell was in shock.

BILL PICKRELL: It's a strange experience.

I'm not sure that I can adequately express

the feelings, but it's--

you work to-- to provide a service and you--

you read about aircraft flying into a mountain

or ending up in a swamp in some distant country.

But you never expect that it's going

to happen in your backyard.

And when it does, it's a--

it's kind of a lonely experience I guess in one sense.

NARRATOR: The Transportation Safety Board of Canada

launched the largest disaster investigation

in the nation's history.

They only knew that Swissair 111 experienced a cockpit fire.

But what caused it remained a mystery.

Well, this accident was a challenging one to investigate,

in that initially, of course, we had

to recover the aircraft from about 55 meters

of water, around 185 feet.

Of course, it was also in many pieces.

As it turns out, it was in a couple of million pieces.

So that was the initial challenge.

And then after that, of course, when you have so many pieces,

you need to determine which are the relevant ones,

and what are these pieces telling you about what happened

and why.

NARRATOR: The Canadian TSB embarked on a five-stage plan.

First, divers were deployed to survey the wreckage.

They discovered that the plane was smashed

into millions of pieces.

But as the autumn weather worsened, the risks to divers

increased.

At this rate, the salvage would take years to complete.

Stage two, with help from the United States Navy,

remote operated vehicles began a more detailed search.

The ROVs help investigators survey the site.

But the question remained.

How to recover tiny pieces of twisted metal

from the bottom of the sea?

We have to go through little bits

of airplanes, little pieces.

In Swiss Air, we've had about 2 million pieces of airplane.

And we pretty much almost had to look at them all, because we

had to discredit certain things, terrorists, bombs,

various other types of faults.

That's it.

Weigh it, guys.

NARRATOR: The Canadian TSB investigators

finally got the breakthrough they'd been seeking,

the black boxes.

Recordings of cockpit and computer data

told investigators that everything on the plane

was working perfectly until the last few minutes.

When the crew declared the pan-pan-pan that they had smoke

in the cockpit, after going through all of these

parameters, we found no anomalies or no problems in any

of that flight data that suggested there was

a problem with the aircraft.

So this led us to believe that the crew had a relatively

operational aircraft.

Aside from the-- the smoke in the cockpit that they noted

everything else appeared to be working fine.

And as they were making their plan to descend the aircraft,

they experienced a series of systems

failures that were in rapid succession, and exponential.

Copy that.

Autopilot disconnect.

Swissair 111, we must fly manually now.

Mike Poole's CVR team then faced a serious setback.

The last six minutes on both flight recorders were missing.

You're losing systems rapidly on the airplane

in that 90 second period that things are happening very fast.

And the last thing we-- one of the last things we know about,

was the two recorders went offline.

So the fire has presumably breached

the lines, breached the--

breached the sources to these recorders,

and has stopped them.

NARRATOR: With the failure of the black boxes,

investigators were no closer to learning how or where the fire

started on Swissair 111.

Stage three, barges were deployed to scour

the seabed for evidence.

One by one, sad remnants of the airplane reached the surface.

The engines were recovered, then the landing gear.

These are among the largest pieces of Swissair 111

to be recovered.

The rest were mere fragments, dredged

up in a painfully slow process.

Stage four, a nearby military hangar

provided a makeshift lab for the growing

team of forensic investigators.

Representatives from the American NTSB, Boeing,

Swissair, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police

joined in the search for answers.

Pieces of Swissair 111 arrived by the truckload,

organized into various categories for analysis.

Soon, the hangar was stacked to capacity

with the biggest jigsaw puzzle in aviation history.

All the investigators knew for sure

was that an initially small cockpit fire suddenly

had turned to catastrophe.

The team sorted through nearly 155

miles of wiring, retrieved from the wreckage of Swissair 111.

Here, the first real clue.

Evidence of electrical arcing.

Scorch marks on metal reveal that the source of the fire

was in the back of the cockpit directly

behind the first officer.

By examining the aircraft's wiring plans,

investigators found a likely suspect, the entertainment

system in first class.

The system had some major deficiencies.

It was getting very hot.

It drew a lot of power.

And thereby, for example, raising

the cabin temperature considerably,

because it was always running.

They did not install a simple off switch,

nor did they install appropriate cooling systems

to cool the system down.

NARRATOR: The Canadian TSB investigators

finally thought they had the breakthrough

they'd been seeking.

Our report indicates that there was a design flaw

in the way the in-flight entertainment network installed

in the first class and business class sections of the aircraft

were installed integrated into the electrical

system of the airplane.

NARRATOR: When Captain Zimmerman threw the cabin bus switch,

all power to the cabin should have been switched off.

But the entertainment system remained on, overheating.

KEN ADAMS: If you'd ask most pilots,

they would say, well, if I push the cabin bus switch,

it's going to turn off the things behind the cockpit.

It's going to isolate that electrically for me,

so I don't have to worry about that.

And then I can just concentrate on those things that might

affect me flying the airplane.

Well, as it turns out, that this switch

was bypassed in this case for this IFEN

or entertainment system.

NARRATOR: Swissair immediately disabled the entertainment

systems on the rest of its fleet.

And the US National Transportation

Safety Board ordered an inspection of cockpit wiring

on all MD-11s.

Unfortunately, this simple solution proved insufficient.

VIC GERDEN: By the time that cabin switch was turned off,

the fire was well underway.

And so that had no real bearing on the--

the initiation or propagation of the fire

in the Swissair 111 aircraft.

NARRATOR: But investigators determined that the problem

with the entertainment system alone could not

have brought down Swissair 111.

The search for answers continued.

Stage five, undaunted, the Canadian TSB reconstructed

the MD-11 from the wreckage.

A wireframe mock-up they call the jig

provided a spine for placing tiny pieces

back where they once belonged.

The reconstruction revealed that the fire spread

with alarming speed from the cockpit

back into the first class galleys.

Some metals showed heat damage from temperatures

as high as 600 degrees Celsius or 1,112 degrees Fahrenheit.

As the investigation continued, some

argued that the actions of the pilots

may have contributed to the disaster.

Some experts charge that Zimmerman

and Lowe's by the book approach may have cost them their lives.

Swissair 111 was asking internally.

Some operators emphasized in a very early stage, land

as soon as possible.

And then if you have time, go into the checklist.

Others said, here's the checklist.

And at the end of the checklist, if that doesn't help,

then land as soon as possible.

Pretty contradictory to basic flying instructions,

where student pilots learned at a very early stage

that whenever you have smoke, you have a fire.

And fire means land as soon as possible.

Emergency light switch on.

Emergency light switch on.

KEN ADAMS: Unfortunately in this case, the way

the checklist was written, it didn't identify that now

start towards the divert.

It started more on let's try to see

if we can solve the problem.

And so now, all of a sudden, you're taking on a problem.

It just kind crept up on you.

You weren't expecting it.

No, we're going to need more than 30 miles.

NARRATOR: But the Canadian TSB considered the timeline,

and disagreed.

Investigators determined that Swissair

111 would not have made Halifax airport

under any circumstances.

There just wasn't enough time.

109.9.

NARRATOR: Whatever caused the fire on Swissair 111,

it happened at a lethal speed.

The mystery remained.

A year after the crash of Swissair flight

111, another ambitious operation began.

The Canadian TSB hired a sophisticated Dutch salvage

ship, "Queen of the Netherlands."

The vessel has a gigantic vacuum system,

capable of dredging even the tiniest pieces of Swissair 111

from the ocean floor.

A mixture of seawater, silt, and aircraft

were pumped into the ship's hold.

This cargo was then pumped into a specially

constructed reservoir onshore.

When the water drained away, investigators

find another million pieces of the aircraft.

Any one of them may hold the clue to what

caused the catastrophic fire.

The painstaking sorting once again resumed.

Finally, after 15 months, they found what they'd been seeking,

a single faulty wire.

VIC GERDEN: We looked at all of the possible sources of heat

that might start a fire in that area, and in this instance,

we did discover a wire that arched in that way,

and right next to it was some very flammable material called

metallized polyethylene terephthalate,

covering material, that covers the insulation blankets.

NARRATOR: This polyethylene insulet, which lined the MD-11,

was then common on commercial airlines worldwide.

It had passed the industry's flammability tests that require

materials to self extinguish after a reasonable period

of time.

The investigation now took an abrupt turn.

Instead of seeking the cause of the fire,

the Canadian TSB now focused on the flammable materials

that fueled it.

VIC GERDEN: This thermal acoustical material

that was in this aircraft was very flammable, even though it

passed a test, and it does sustain

and it does propagate flame.

So this investigation did focus on the flammability

of materials, and the requirement

to reassess the criteria that is used to certify materials,

not just thermal acoustical insulation blanket material,

but also other materials that goes into aircraft,

much of it in hidden areas.

NARRATOR: Investigators now had their answer.

A wire arched in a closed space behind the cockpit.

The arc ignited the insulation, which

in turn lit other materials, such as foams and plastics.

The pilots could not sense how quickly the fire intensified.

But 14 minutes after they declared pan-pan-pan,

the fire disabled all electronics in the cockpit.

The black boxes went dead.

Forensic examination also shed light

on the desperate final minutes in the cockpit.

Lowe was in his seat.

Captain Zimmerman was not, likely

fighting the fire, and probably dead before impact.

At 10:30, Lowe shut down engine 2.

Investigators determined he likely received a warning

that the engine was on fire.

Chillingly, it proved that Lowe was

alive a minute before impact.

They could not determine whether the passengers

were aware of the fire, at least until the very final moments.

There were traces found of suit and smoke

extending as much far to the business class overhead area.

Whether the passengers had smelled the smoke,

it's not known.

DNA analysis showed that they had no residue in their body.

NARRATOR: The aircraft hit the water with a force of 350 G's.

The Canadian teaspoon spent 4 and 1/2 years and 40 million

USD analyzing the wreckage of Swissair 111, one

of the largest air disaster investigations

in Canada's history.

In March of 2003, America's NTSB issued its final report

and made 23 air safety recommendations,

including higher standards for wiring tests,

teaching crews aggressive in-flight firefighting

strategies, and the conclusion that flammable materials did

not belong on commercial aircraft.

The rate of progression in this airplane I think

surprised us and surprised others.

And that's why we emphasize again the importance of raising

the bar on the flammability standards for materials

used in airplanes.

NARRATOR: Ian Shaw waited four years for the report

to reveal the fatal flaw that took the life of his daughter.

But the truth has not diminished his anger at Swissair.

IAN SHAW: There has to be accountability.

If you are involved in wrongdoing,

you must be held accountable.

And you must declare your sense of responsibility.

Otherwise you are hiding.

And you are hiding in this case behind the flag of Switzerland.

I think it's unbelievable.

NARRATOR: After the release of the report,

the thermal acoustical insulation material

that had significantly contributed to the rapid spread

of the fire on flight 111 was removed

from approximately 1,500 airplanes,

banned from future planes.

The industry now conducts much tougher flammability tests

on materials used in aircraft.

This major overhaul was designed to ensure

that what took place on Swissair 111 would never happen again.