SouthShoreNow.ca

Lisa Brown
Lighthouse staff

 PEGGY'S COVE - Investigators probing the September 2 crash of Swissair Flight 111 off Peggy's Cove say reports last week indicating the flight crew argued over how to handle the emergency were misleading.

 At a news conference Friday, lead Transportation Safety Board investigator Vic Gerden said the summary of events published by The Wall Street Journal January 21 is inaccurate. The Journal claimed the information came from a confidential summary of the cockpit voice recording.

 That summary, the story said, indicated that co-pilot Stephan Loew was at the controls of the MD-11 and wanted to make a quick landing at Halifax International Airport. Captain Urs Zimmermann, it said, refused and continued to follow an emergency checklist procedure.

 While the actual recording is protected under Canadian law, Mr. Gerden said Friday "interpretations of the interaction between the crew members are not only misleading, but inaccurate." He insisted both men acted professionally in the minutes before the crash.

 Mr. Gerden also confirmed that Mr. Loew was in his seat when the plane went down. Examination of damage to the seat belt is consistent with it being occupied at impact. Not enough of the captain's seat has been recovered to determine if Capt. Zimmermann was likewise seated.

 TSB spokesman Jim Harris said Monday The Journal's information may have been obtained from an early summary of information from the recorders, but that may have changed greatly as the investigation progressed.

 "I'm pretty sure the people who did that story have not heard the tapes and probably have not read the transcript," Mr. Harris said. "Our people have so they have a much better understanding of what was going on at the time of the accident."

 Meanwhile, Mr. Harris said work at the crash site and at CFB Shearwater is continuing. The Lunenburg scallop dragger Anne S. Pierce is in port for routine maintenance until mid-February. The Canadian Coast Guard ship Parizeau is using video cameras and mechanical arms to spot wreckage remaining on the ocean floor and to retrieve small pieces. Next week, the navy vessel HMCS Goose Bay will return to the crash site. With similar but larger equipment, that ship will be able to retrieve more wreckage.

 To date about 86 per cent of the downed passenger jet has been recovered by weight - about 112,000 kilograms of bits and pieces. Analysis of various parts of the debris is continuing as is the reconstruction of the front nose of the aircraft at Shearwater.

 One of the most recent developments saw the plane's fuel pumps sent to their manufacturer.

 "If they were operating at impact, potentially we'll be able to obtain information on what electrical systems were in operation at the time of the crash," Mr. Harris said.

 Investigators are concentrating on the front section of the aircraft and its wiring systems because the flight crew reported smelling smoke in the cockpit before the plane suffered electrical failure and plunged into the ocean killing all 229 people on board.