Swissair Flight 111 Abbreviated Investigation Chronology
September 2, 1998: At 21:18 Atlantic daylight time (ADT), Swissair Flight 111 (SR 111), a McDonnell Douglas MD-11 aircraft, departs John F. Kennedy Airport, New York, en route to Geneva, Switzerland, with 215 passengers and 14 crew members on board. Approximately 53 minutes after take-off, while cruising at 33 000 feet, the crew notices an unusual smell in the cockpit.