1998 - Rescue teams searched for bodies and debris in rough seas off Canada’s Atlantic coast after a Swissair jet crashed into the ocean, killing all 229 people on board. The wide-body jet, heading for an emergency landing in Halifax, Nova Scotia, after smoke began filling the cabin, plunged into the ocean.
A flotilla of fishing boats, Coast Guard and Navy ships hauled in a grim cargo of debris including children’s toys and sodden luggage. Airline officials gave a chilling glimpse of the last moments of the flight, reporting that the pilots issued the extreme distress call “Pan, pan, pan” — short for the French “panne”, or breakdown as they fought to keep the plane in the air.
Other important events
1666 - The Great Fire of London breaks out.
1775 - The first American warship, the Hannah, is commissioned at Marblehead, Massachusetts.
1900 - Telegraph use between Germany and the US begins.
1930 - French aviators complete the first non-stop aircraft flight from Europe to the United States.
1935 - A hurricane slams into the Florida Keys, claiming 423 lives.
1945 - Japan formally surrenders to the Allies, bringing an end to the Second World War.
1969 - Ho Chi Minh, Vietnamese Communist leader, dies of heart attack.
1979 - Zimbabwe Rhodesia hoists a new flag in a symbolic affirmation of black power.
2016 - A powerful bomb blast rocks busy night market in Davao, Philippines, killing at least 10 people.
