Cherie Mullen Hastie – Navy Spouse

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From a press report of September 5, 1998

Cherie Mullen Hastie, a native Charlestonian living in Atlanta and a former schoolteacher, died Wednesday in the crash of Swissair Flight 111 near Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Hastie, 59, was flying to Geneva, Switzerland, to visit her daughter, Elizabeth Mullen Hastie, who has been there since February at a Christian retreat facility. Hastie’s death brought an outpouring of memories Friday from those who described her as the best friend they had ever known.

“Anyone who knew her would never forget her,” said Jane Neil of Charleston, a retired teacher. Neil said she met Hastie about 27 years ago when both taught at Oakland Elementary School in Charleston. “She was there for all of us,” Neil said. “She was a very devout Christian. To know her was like being touched by an angel.”

Another friend, Jeannie Thrower of Summerville, now teaches at Mason Preparatory School in Charleston. She described Hastie as “my very best friend in the whole world. We were friends from our teens. If you knew her, you would think she was your best friend, too.”

Mrs. Hastie was born in Charleston, a daughter of Patrick Lloyd Mullen and Alvena Proctor Mullen. She was a 1956 graduate of Rivers High School and a 1972 graduate of Baptist College at Charleston. She described herself as “a late bloomer,” according to friends, because she didn’t finish college or marry until she was well into her 30s. She met her husband, now retired Navy Captain William J. Hastie, when he was a submarine officer stationed at Charleston.

The couple also lived in Newport, Rhode Island., Innellan, Scotland, and London, England, before settling in Atlanta several years ago. Captain Hastie was en route to Charleston late Friday, Thrower said. “She came from a very strong Christian family,” Thrower said. In Atlanta, she was a member of the Church of the Apostles and several Bible study groups.

Survivors include her husband, her mother of Charleston, another daughter, Cameron Miller Hastie of Atlanta; a sister-in-law, Barbara Frick Mullen of Columbia; and three nephews. Memorial services will be planned in Charleston and Atlanta. Burial will be scheduled at a later date in Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia.

Memorials may be made to West Shore Episcopal Church in Charleston.

No survivors from Swissair MD-11 crash

Zurich, September 3, 1998, 16:50 – Some 12 hours after Swissair’s flight SR 111 crashed into the sea off the Nova Scotia coast, it is clear that none of the aircraft’s 215 passengers and 14 crew survived.

The aircraft had left New York at 20:18 (local time) and should have arrived in Geneva at 09:30 this morning. The flight was piloted by an experienced cockpit crew: Captain Urs Zimmermann (50) and First Officer Stephan Loew (36) were both instructors with considerable MD-11 experience.

The crew reported problems with the flight to Moncton air traffic control centre shortly after takeoff, and initially considered diverting to Boston. The situation appears to have deteriorated rapidly, however, prompting the crew to head for the smaller but closer airport at Halifax, Nova Scotia. Before they were able to initiate their approach, the aircraft crashed into the sea, some 7-10 minutes short of the airport.

Efforts are currently being made to locate the aircraft’s flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder, which contain records of the flight and cockpit conversations of the previous 30 minutes. Until these are found, no statements about the details of the accident can be made

The aircraft concerned – registration HB-IWF – joined the Swissair fleet on August 5, 1991. It underwent a major overhaul in 1996, and received its latest one-day “A” Check on August 10 of this year.

A list of the nationalities of the passengers has now been issued, and is attached to this bulletin.

Swissair’s management and personnel are shocked and deeply saddened at this tragic loss.

NTSB Identification: DCA98RA085

Scheduled 14 CFRPart 129 operation of Foreign SWISSAIR
Accident occurred Wednesday, September 02, 1998 at NOVA SCOTIA
Aircraft:Douglas MD-11, registration: HBIWF
Injuries: 229 Fatal.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.

On September 2, 1998, about 0930 pm EDT, a MD-11, HB-IWF, operated by Swiss Air as flight 111, crashed into a bay near Blandford, Nova Scotia. (the nearest area is called Peggy’s cove). The airplane was a regularly scheduled passenger flight
from JFK International Airport, Jamaica, New York to Geneva, Switzerland, operating under 14 CFR Part 129. The flight also operated as Delta flight 111 under a code sharing agreement. The reports from the scene indicate that the airplane was
destroyed and the 215 passengers (including 2 children) and 14 crewmembers were killed.

The accident is being investigated by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada. The Safety Board is assisting in the investigation under the provisions of Annex 13 to ICAO as the State of Manufacturer. Technical advisors to the U.S. Accredited Representative are the FAA, ALPA, Boeing Long Beach Division, and Pratt & Whitney.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) investigated this occurrence for the purpose of advancing transportation safety. It is not the function of the Board to assign fault or determine civil or criminal liability.

Aviation Investigation Report

In-Flight Fire Leading to Collision with Water
Swissair Transport Limited
McDonnell Douglas MD-11 HB-IWF
Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia 5 nm SW
2 September 1998

Report Number A98H0003

Synopsis:

On 2 September 1998, Swissair Flight 111 departed New York, United States of America, at 2018 eastern daylight savings time on a scheduled flight to Geneva, Switzerland, with 215 passengers and 14 crew members on board.

About 53 minutes after departure, while cruising at flight level 330, the flight crew smelled an abnormal odour in the cockpit. Their attention was then drawn to an unspecified area behind and above them and they began to investigate the source. Whatever they saw initially was shortly thereafter no longer perceived to be visible. They agreed that the origin of the anomaly was the air conditioning system.

When they assessed that what they had seen or were now seeing was definitely smoke, they decided to divert. They initially began a turn toward Boston; however, when air traffic services mentioned Halifax, Nova Scotia, as an alternative airport, they changed the destination to the Halifax International Airport. While the flight crew was preparing for the landing in Halifax, they were unaware that a fire was spreading above the ceiling in the front area of the aircraft. About 13 minutes after the abnormal odour was detected, the aircraft’s flight data recorder began to record a rapid succession of aircraft systems-related failures.

The flight crew declared an emergency and indicated a need to land immediately. About one minute later, radio communications and secondary radar contact with the aircraft were lost, and the flight recorders stopped functioning. About five and one-half minutes later, the aircraft crashed into the ocean about five nautical miles southwest of Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada. The aircraft was destroyed and there were no survivors.

HASTIE, CHERIE MULLEN
DATE OF BIRTH: 09/24/1938
DATE OF DEATH: 09/02/1998
BURIED AT: SECTION 66  SITE 5119
ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY
WIFE OF HASTIE, WILLIAM J  CAPT US NAVY

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