20th anniversary of Swissair crash
Families, first responders honoured at Nova Scotia service
BAYSWATER BEACH, N.S. — Stephen Thompson clutched a tissue Sunday afternoon, unable to hold back tears during an emotional service honouring his father and 228 others who died in a horrific airplane crash 20 years ago.
Thompson attended the service along with others who lost loved ones when Swissair Flight 111 from New York City to Geneva crashed into Nova Scotian waters on the evening of Sept. 2, 1998, leaving no survivors.
“He was my best friend,” Thompson said.
“Still, to this day, whenever I come back or think about it, it brings back memories of that night, but I have some great memories as well. The good memories are what I really focus on, but every now and then it comes back,” he said.
Thompson said he was thankful for all the people who helped out following the crash.
“I can’t believe the number of people that are here today,” he said. “It meant a lot.”
During the service at the Swissair Memorial Site in Bayswater, N.S., Rev. Louis Quennelle of the Anglican Parish of Blandford told the dozens gathered for the ceremony that while the events of that night were tragic, they helped bring many communities and friendships together.
“The lessons of Swissair were many ... One of the lessons taught is that the world can be a very small place. Tragedy touched people in different ways from all around our little blue planet,” he said.
Quennelle noted that it’s important to remember the first responders who helped in the immediate aftermath of the disaster, saying they “took part in what was originally thought to be a rescue operation, but quickly became one of search, and recovery, and investigation.”
Greg Cainen, who was a Halifax Regional Police officer at the time, said the night of the incident is still fresh in his mind.
The MacDonald Bridge between Halifax and Dartmouth was closed that evening, and Cainen was tasked with getting it open to receive ambulances from the disaster.
“I spoke with the foreman of the company, and I said: ‘There’s been a tragedy and we need the bridge for ambulance traffic.’ He promised it would be open within 30 minutes, and it was,” Cainen said Sunday.
“I radioed to another one of our members and I said the bridge was open and ready to receive ambulance traffic. And there was a short pause in his response, and he just said, ‘There are no survivors.’”
Two days later, he was sent to patrol Peggy’s Cove — a popular tourist attraction where another Swissair monument is located — to ensure the family members of the victims didn’t attempt suicide on the slippery rocks.
“When I go there today, I picture checkpoints, I picture helicopter landing zones. It’s just different for me,” he said.
While he said he doesn’t deal with any long-term effects from his work in the aftermath of the Swissair crash, he knows several first responders who live with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Claire Mortimer, who lost her father and stepmother in the crash, said she’s heard of at least two suicides by people involved in the recovery efforts.
“This is a tragedy as much as the plane crash was a tragedy,” she said, referencing one of the men who died by suicide.
“I consider people such as (the man,) who took their own lives as a result of their involvement in the Swissair site, to be a victim of Swissair as much as my father. These people need to be recognized and cared for.”
Of the 229 who died, 14 were crew and the rest were passengers, most of whom came from the U.S., France, or Switzerland. Notable figures on board included AIDS researcher Jonathan Mann, Pierce Gerety of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and Ingrid Acevedo, UNICEF public relations director.