The images of sorrow flashed across television screens around the world and united all who watched in sympathy and disbelief. But for the people of Nova Scotia’s south shore, the pain has lingered long after the media spotlight vanished and the story became old news.

"We’ve learned a lot of lessons from the crash of Swissair Flight 111," says Maj Michel Brisebois, Officer-in-Charge at the Halifax Rescue Co-ordination Centre (RCC). "But looking back, I wouldn’t change any of the fundamental actions we took. Everything was done well."

One of the first obstacles to be tackled was the problem of media. It didn’t take long for media to discover the RCC phone numbers, and the lines became jammed. Controllers couldn’t make outcoming calls to the resources and people waiting to be tasked.

Sixteen public affairs staff from the RCC and the Canadian Navy were called in to move the media calls away from vital RCC phone lines and establish a communications structure. "We realized also that having a single point of contact was important for everyone," said Brisebois. "Not having to go through a list of people to get the information you need is very important, so we asked for representatives from the various agencies (Swissair, Emergency Measures Organization, Canadian Coast Guard and RCMP) to streamline

communications and use all resources in an effective manner." The Incident Command Structure was implemented and the RCC became a joint operations centre. The structure worked well, and |the RCC gained and sustained control.

The first challenge was determining the search area. "We had the last known position of the plane, and we had a number of phone reports from various locations around the Aspotogan Peninsula. The initial search area was narrowed to an area of 10 nautical miles," recounts Brisebois. Conditions were poor: Hurricane Danielle had recently swept through the area leaving bad weather and low ceilings. First light revealed the location of the debris field.

HMCS Preserver was in the area and was soon made the on-scene commander, giving her the responsibility to task resources and control aircraft and marine resources in the area. On Thursday 3 September, Brisebois and his staff contacted Commander Leblanc of the United States Coast Guard (USCG), who had dealt with similar circumstances in the TWA Flight 800 crash. Leblanc shared the lessons learned from that incident. In the TWA crash, the search for survivors was called off just hours after the crash. This took hope away from next-of-kin and made the USCG the target of harsh criticism.

"We had tasked all of our available resources to the search area," said Brisebois. "Volunteers were already recovering debris and, from that, we could pretty much tell that the chance of finding survivors was slim. But we didn’t want to give up too soon."

One of the methods used to make the decision to keep searching was the information available on cold water immersion. Science can make predictions based on a person’s age and percentage of body fat of how long an individual can survive when immersed in cold water. "Using the cold water immersion model, our target point was 36 hours. But you can’t just go by the prediction chart," says Brisebois. "Often we see the human body survive in terrible conditions way beyond what’s typically predicted, so we usually search for days longer than what’s predicted."

Because the search area was very small and had been searched repeatedly by air and marine resources, any hope of finding survivors was disappearing quickly. "You never really want to say there’s no way anyone survived this," notes Brisebois. "It’s a terrible feeling. We gave it every benefit of the doubt, but at 10:30 on Friday morning we transferred control to the Transportation Safety Board and repatriated all primary SAR assets."

At the Friday evening meeting of emergency response personnel and the families of the victims, Brisebois had to tell the more than 600 family members that there was no possibility of finding survivors. "My responsibility is to the public of Canada and to the families of the Swissair passengers," states Brisebois. "The families need to know that everything possible has been done. They deserve to know everything."

The Canadian Coast Guard responded quickly with numerous ships, including CCGS Hudson, CCGS Mary Hichens, CCGS Simon Fraser, CCGS Earl Grey (equipped with a boom to retrieve debris), CCGS Matthew (equipped with multi-beam and sidescan sonar to create 3-D images of the ocean floor) and CCGS Sambro (first government vessel on the scene).

In addition to these ships, 14 fast rescue craft and more than 15 Auxiliary vessels were also involved in the extensive recovery operation. Canadian Coast Guard helicopters were used to support teams doing island and shoreline searches.

"Behind the scenes, we had night crews of mechanics making sure that at the beginning of every operational period, all boats were decontaminated, fueled, fixed and ready to go," says Gallagher. "Then there were the people who worked to make sure that our computer networks didn’t crash. We were only able to maintain this operation because we had the total support of our management who wanted us to do the job right no matter what it took."

In terms of resources and cost, Gallagher says his entire annual budget would have been spent by day three of the operation. "The costs were staggering,"

he says. "When you think of the people, boats, fuel, maintenance, communications not to mention feeding and housing your people, it’s mindboggling."

Boats from the Conservation and Protection Branch of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans also joined the effort. "The Transportation Safety Board established a closure zone, and we were responsible for maintaining and enforcing the zone to block unauthorized traffic," says Gary Hutchins, Fishery Officer. Government and designated Auxiliary vessels were easy to identify, but in many instances officers had to turn away media or curiosity-seekers.

One major challenge was the arrival of new crews to the mission. "Everyone needed training when they arrived," Hutchins says. "This area is challenging for navigation at the best of times and having to search close to the shoreline requires special attention. So in the midst of the mission we were also constantly running training programs. But it paid off, and all the searches were carried out without any safety problems."

Bruce Henderson, Rescue Training Co-ordinator at CCG Sambro, says community support made all the difference for the marine searchers. "Almost without exception, all the workers wanted to stay till the very end," recalls Henderson. "Even when conditions were extremely adverse, people were willing to work anywhere at any time. The civilian support was incredible from the ground searchers to residents who brought us food and tried to make everyone more comfortable."

"We worked very closely with the Coast Guard, the Auxiliary, the RCMP and volunteers. It was really a pleasure to work with all of the other agencies and there was only the utmost co-operation among us," recalls Hutchins. "All of us had the same goal and that was to make sure that everything that could be done was done well."

The RCMP also provided marine search capabilities using its own vessels and boat operators. Cst Vince Wood, of the Tantallon Detachment, echoed the appreciation for community support. "Operations-wise everything was fairly normal for us," says Wood. "Our training is standardized and we certainly know how to handle evidence, but a search of this duration and the nature of the evidence we were handling were unique." The team work and camaraderie of the operations out of Yankee Cove were a high point for Cst Wood and the other marine search personnel. "It’s always great to work with new people, and the community has been excellent," says Wood.

For the marine searchers, enforcing the search zone will continue until winter weather shuts down dragging operations. Pending any results from the investigations, further searching may or may not continue in the spring of 1999. 

But Russell admits that the Swissair mission did push volunteers to the limit because of what they were confronted with and how long the search took. "For the first couple of days we had lots of times when you’d be searching a beach and not realize that what you were finding were human remains," he recalls. "At first it’s too much, but then you think that everything you find might help identify a victim and help the family, so that keeps you going even when it’s hard."

One of the major challenges for searchers was the terrain. The Aspotogan Peninsula is treacherous with rocky shorelines, steep cliffs and dense woods. Exhausted searchers scoured beaches with slippery rocks shifting under their feet. In places, they couldn’t get back up the cliffs and had to continue walking the beaches. Further inshore, searchers had to contend with terrain that changes constantly, from rocky clearings to dense forest, to swamp.

"At the height of the search we had 800 volunteers passing through here in one day," recalls Chris Hubley, Logistics Officer for the Whale’s Back Command Centre. "We had to make sure each volunteer had all the required gear and that they knew how to use it properly." The Swissair mission was essentially a huge evidence search, so volunteers had to know how to retrieve pieces of the plane properly and protect themselves from sharp metal and carbon residue. For the human remains, searchers had to use proper procedure to avoid contaminating the remains with their own DNA.

Supplies came from across Canada – maps, food, drink, trailers, blankets, toiletries – and from the community. "We kept track of everything," says Lorraine Carroll, also a Logistics Officer. "Aside from inventory and people, we also had to manage the site, including vehicles, fuel, all the receipts and all the money."

One major adjustment for Hubley was picking up the phone and asking people to bring supplies or equipment to the site. "People laugh at me because I always try to do everything for as little money as possible," she says. "But I know how hard it is for us to raise money, so I try to be as creative as I can. With this operation it was really strange for me to just phone someone and ask them for stuff."

In the midst of the Swissair mission, eight additional searches took place in Nova Scotia. Team resources were taxed to the limit, and volunteers worked extremely long hours. "I’d say for the first few weeks, we were here from five o’clock in the morning till about nine each evening," says Hubley. "Then you drive home, see your kids, try and do the household things, not to mention the piles of paperwork that you bring home from the command centre. By the time you do all of this and then wind down enough to sleep you end up with four to five hours sleep max."

From a heavy briefcase Hubley pulls out calendars: the entire month of September has Swissair written in each square. Hubley points out when other searches occurred and the weeks where she went back to her regular job at Workers’ Compensation. "All of the employers deserve a lot of credit," she says. "In most cases they’ve been really good letting Ground SAR volunteers take the time off to do the searching. But I know lots of people who have used up next year’s paid leave or sick days to keep searching. People want to work till the job’s done."

Carroll was recruited for the operation from the Beaverbank Community Policing Office where she volunteers every week. "Now I have an application in to join the Halifax Regional Team," she says, smiling.

The Halifax Regional SAR team has 130 members, including seven alarm operators which means that the team can be ready for a search in a very short period of time. "We do expect that we’ll get new members out of this," Russell says. "Any time we have a fairly high-profile search we get new members. Not all of them stay, some get turned off when they realize how much training and time is required."

"When SAR touches a family, we also get new members," he says. "If you look at all the SAR teams in Nova Scotia, and probably everywhere in Canada, there is probably at least one member who joined because a family member has been found alive or dead, by a volunteer search team. It’s like any resource, you don’t realize it’s there or how valuable it is until you need it yourself."

The troubling nature of what searchers were faced with every day in the Swissair mission is made even more difficult because this happened in their com-

munity. Unable to escape the physical reminders of the search made coping difficult. "Water was always my salvation," says Hubley. "I always felt relaxed and at home when I looked out at the ocean, but knowing what happened to all of those people changes how you look at things."

"For me it’s fish," Carroll says. "I just can’t bring myself to even look at fish, let alone eat it. I’ve seen what came out of that water, and it’s hard to think of it in the same way now."

"It’s going to take time," says Hubley. "We’ve been through 58 days of hell." 

Barrington Ground SAR

Cape Breton Ground SAR

Colchester County Ground SAR

Clare Ground SAR

Digby Ground SAR

East Hants SAR

Eastern Shore Ground SAR

Inverness Ground SAR

Lunenburg Ground SAR

Middle Musquodoboit Ground SAR

Queen’s County Ground SAR (North and South)

Pugwash Ground SAR

Cheticamp SAR

Sheet Harbour SAR

Springhill SAR

Strait Area Mutual Aid Society

Valley Ground SAR

West Hants Ground SAR

Media Mayhem

As with any major disaster story, the crash of Swissair Flight 111 attracted the attention of the world’s media. But when a community with a population of 60 is invaded by satellite trucks and reporters, some interesting stories develop that never make it to print or to air.

• An American television network purchases six new Lincolns when no rental vehicles can be found.
• A tv satellite truck backs into a resident’s holding tank. The tv crew writes a cheque for $5000 U.S. to compensate and then ask if they can rent the house during their stay for $1000 per day.
• A boat carrying reporters and photographers from an American tabloid newspaper is intercepted by Fisheries and Oceans personnel on its way to the search site.
• The Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Halifax is flooded with media calls just hours after the crash. No outgoing calls can be made from the centre because of the onslaught.
• So many phone calls come into the community that MT&T, the province’s phone company, has to repair the lines and add new ones to deal with the overload.
• Cellular phone towers are pushed to the limit with cell phone traffic.
• Reporters are flatly told that should they set foot on the command centre lot, they will be arrested and detained.
• Reporters pay fishermen to take them out to the scene on the night of the crash. Some are so poorly behaved that the boats turned around and put the reporters back onshore.

For the Ground SAR volunteers, fishermen, RCMP, Coast Guard, Fisheries and Oceans and military personnel responding to the Swissair crash, dealing with what they have seen and experienced can exact a heavy toll on their emotional well-being. "Everyone’s life is like a closet," explains Garry Hicks, RCMP Employee Assistance Program Co-ordinator. "An upsetting experience is a shoe box. Every time you deal with the stress you put another shoe box in the closet until eventually the closet can’t hold any more. Critical Incident Stress counselling aims to defuse the situation before the closet explodes," Hicks says.

In Nova Scotia, the RCMP currently has 29 trained Critical Incident Stress counsellors, 18 of whom are also chaplains. The force also has a full-time psychologist who complements the resources available to members.

"It’s really important to make sure no one falls through the cracks," Hicks says. "So there is an agreement in place that any volunteer who requires further counselling will have access to it via the EMO (Emergency Measures Organization)."

Families of those who have worked on the Swissair mission also have an emotional burden. To help them deal with the impact of the tragedy on their lives at home, information sessions were held and support materials provided. The counsellors themselves are also at risk from what Hicks calls "compassion fatigue." All personnel get debriefings to help them deal with the emotional exhaustion involved in counseling on a large scale over an extended period of time.

"We sincerely hope that we don’t miss anyone," says Hicks. "But time is a big factor, and I don’t foresee the emotional toll of the Swissair tragedy ending anytime in the near future. Healing can be a long process, but we’re prepared to keep helping people indefinitely." 

Jennifer Reaney, NSS

It’s hard to imagine that all that’s left of Swissair Flight 111 are the boxes of wires, metal and insulation in the hangar at CFB Shearwater. Huge photos of the MD11 rest against the walls, and teams of people are stationed around the hangar processing all the pieces that arrive.

Teams of personnel from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the Transportation Safety Board, Boeing, Swissair and others decontaminate, sort, photograph and document each piece recovered by searchers. In the initial sort, the evidentiary value of each piece is determined based on whether it can be attributed to a certain part of the plane or shows a particular type of damage.

I find it incredible that anyone can examine all this evidence and find a cause for the crash as I walk down the aisles between the large boxes. The miles of wires found by searchers are all examined by specialists. Each piece of evidence can tell a story. Whether wire is blackened, has melted copper or shows signs of arcing tells investigators the proximity of the wire to the source of heat, how hot the wire burned and if it burned in flight. Undamaged wire is also important as serial numbers on the coating can be matched to MD11 blueprints and show where there was no burning in the aircraft’s vast electrical system.

Any piece of debris which is sooted, melted or discoloured due to excessive heat is flagged "fire." These pieces are given a delicate freshwater wash, which while it does remove soot, serves to help preserve the evidence. They are then dried and identified. Investigators use three methods to determine which part of the plane the piece comes from. "X" represents a horizontal axis along the fuselage, the "Y" axis, parallel to the wings, allows debris to be plotted as left or right of this central axis and "Z" indicates the vertical axis.

Once the origin of the piece of debris has been plotted, it is shelved according to the X, Y and Z points for future incorporation on to a large jig which will allow investigators to recreate the MD11 out of the recovered debris. Plotting is achieved using a physical mockup (the jig) and by using computer models and virtual reality.

Paint can reveal several things to investigators. Fire evidence is detected by discoloration, each paint reacts differently to heat, creating many colour changes. For example, the paint called FR Primer is green, but when heated, it may turn brown, darker brown, black or it may burn off completely leaving metal exposed. This gives laboratory staff a temperature profile for each piece of metal which, when compared to profiles of other pieces, may tell investigators the location of the heat source. Metal itself may also change based on exposure to high temperatures. The softness or hardness of the metal and its conductivity are tested. Beyond all of this, a scanning electron microscope with a very high magnification provides valuable optical evidence such as a feathered edge, edges that look like the edge of a straw broom or fractures in the metal which also indicate a temperature profile.

Human remains have also provided valuable evidence to investigators. Computer programs are used to reconstruct bodies and, once DNA identification is complete, staff use passenger lists and seat numbers to see if a pattern can be established based on the remains recovered from passengers in each part of the plane.

Some have questioned the extent to which human remains are examined, as cause of death is certainly not an issue in this case. However, as with physical evidence from the plane itself, human remains can also tell investigators a great deal. In essence, bodies are also flight data recorders. The human body absorbs chemicals and gases in its immediate environment and after death, toxicology tests on tissue can reveal if, for example, a person was surrounded by smoke before he or she died.

Based on where that person sat, investigators gain one more clue in determining the location of the heat source. If DNA is detected on metal or fabric recovered from the plane, investigators can cross-reference their findings. Beyond discovering the cause of the Swissair crash, investigators can also use their findings to review the safety equipment used on aircraft. For example, would smoke hoods have aided in survivability or are the seats designed effectively to protect people in emergency situations?

No one knows how long it will take to find answers to the hundreds of questions arising from the crash; however just as investigators in this case learned from the TWA Flight 800 case, valuable lessons from this investigation will no doubt assist in the investigation of crashes in the future.

Cpl Archie Mason, Co-ordinator of Special Projects for RCMP SAR, was asked to look into the idea of developing a 25-year volunteer service award. After considerable consultation with other Nova Scotia RCMP Incident Commanders, a decision was made to develop a military-style, long service medal.

"What we wanted was a formal and worthwhile expression of the RCMP’s appreciation of what the volunteers do for this province," said Cpl Mason. Donald Bell, a goldsmith in Bedford, helped Corporal Mason design the medal, casting them in solid silver.

The process took over a year and involved both the design and minting of the medal and development of the ribbon by Toye, Kenning and Spencer Ltd of Bedworth, England. The ribbon was entered into Britain’s official registry of all military and service medals awarded in the commonwealth to ensure that no other agency can use the ribbon selected for these service medals.

Minted by Mr. Bell, the silver medals feature the RCMP crest and the words "Ground Search and Rescue" on the front and the points of a compass surrounding the words "25 years of faithful service" on the back.

This year, 18 people received the medals at the Nova Scotia Ground Search and Rescue Association’s Annual General Meeting. With the number of volunteers in the province, the medals will be awarded to many more dedicated volunteers in future years. "What makes the medals credible is the people who receive them," says Cpl Mason. 

"Everyone who participated has said that the experience changed their life," says Laurel Clark of Air Nova. "It was a very emotionally difficult experience, but most Care Partners have said they’d do it again in a minute." Care Partners performed a variety of tasks from helping families get through airports on their way to Nova Scotia, finding information and most important, providing emotional support during a devastating experience.

"The Care Partners take their cues from the families they’re paired with," Clark explains. "Some people developed great intimacy with the Care Partner and relied on them heavily during that time. Others wanted minimal assistance and no emotional connection."

Partners are matched with families based on available information (religion, language etc.). The passengers of Swissair represented a wide variety of languages and religions. Bilingual Care Partners and clergy representing all faiths were available for the families, and the Swiss-German community of Nova Scotia also helped ease communications.

Care Partners must have strong problem-solving and listening skills and above all, must be compassionate. But dealing with the pain of others takes its toll on people. To address this, all Care Partners receive counselling during a response and are never forced to participate if they find it too stressful. "Care Partners

find the experience very rewarding," says Clark. "Certainly returning to work after a response, most Care Partners find they have a new perspective on daily life and no longer sweat the small stuff."

Following the crash of TWA Flight 800, all major American airlines were regulated by the U.S. government to ensure that family members were treated well and given access to crash sites, personal effects and the remains of their loved ones. Canadian airlines are not regulated to do so, but do have programs in place to address the needs of next-of-kin.