Flight 111 A Year in the Life of a Tragedy

Fifteen years later, the crash of Swissair Flight 111 remains one of the largest aviation accidents ever recorded. The crash claimed over two hundred victims, and changed the course of countless lives, from the victims’s friends and relatives, the dedicated individuals who helped with the search and investigation, and the residents who welcomed the victims’ families into their homes. Award-winning writer Steven Kimber has collected their stories, starting with the seemingly innocent events leading up to the fatal day on September 2, 1998, the search for survivors, and failing that, the pursuit for answers. Kimber successfully combines these accounts in a lively, heart-wrenching style to give a human face to one of the worst tragedies in Canadian history. This new edition includes an afterword with updated information from the investigation.

FIND A COPY

ADD IT TO YOUR TBR

Join the Conversation Today...

WRITE A REVIEW

average rating is 5 out of 5, based on 1 votes, book lovers sharing their thoughts

100 % would recommend

Thanks for submitting a review! 😘

Emily Hunter

Location:

PEI

average rating is 5 out of 5

Time Published

A Tragic Read

“Flight 111” is a book that tells the true tale of one of the largest aviation accidents ever recorded. On September 2, 1998, Swissair Flight 111 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, just 9 kilometers off the coast of Peggy’s Cove in Nova Scotia. This crash claimed the lives of 229 people, 215 being passengers and 14 being crew.

This was one of those books where I got so far into it and felt like I just could not stop. I got very wrapped up in this story, and it even prompted me to look further into all this after I read the book. I had watched news clips I could find, and old articles/testimonies to read further into. I found this story horrifying to read, the detail into how it crashed and what likely happened to the people on the plane as it was crashing was shocking. I am not very familiar with aircrafts, and even less familiar with aviation disasters so this was a first for me.

Reading about the aftermath, the families, and those involved was insightful. I found the author told the stories of the victims and the aftermath with their families in such a way that it was meaningful to almost get to know them and their stories, yet I also feel bad knowing how much these people have suffered. In my opinion, I felt the author spent a lot of time researching and getting to know the people he was telling this story about, as the way it reads and comes across is just like second nature.

I gave this book a 5 star rating because it was just a book I did not want to put down. It was informative. It was interesting. But it was also horrifying and shocking in ways I expected but was not totally prepared to learn about. I had never heard of this crash previous, which baffled me because, at the time, and even still now, it is one of the largest aviation accidents ever recorded. I recommend this book to anyone who likes nonfiction books, anyone who likes a gripping story that you feel like you can’t put down, and anyone who takes an interest in books that are a retelling/research piece on disasters and tragedies that have happened.

I recommend this book.