Canadian investigators search through recovered debris

In this story:

• Large part of aircraft found
• A lengthy quest for help?
• U.N.: At least 7 staff members on board
• Related stories and sites

PEGGY'S COVE, Nova Scotia (CNN) -- Search crews working in rough seas off the coast of Nova Scotia continued to pull bodies and debris from the cold Atlantic waters on Thursday, as details of the crash of Swissair Flight 111 began to emerge.

Swissair officials said they assume all 229 people aboard the jetliner died when the plane plunged into the Atlantic Ocean late Wednesday.

The MD-11 had taken off from New York's Kennedy International Airport at 8:18 p.m. EDT, bound for Geneva. Officials say it vanished from radar roughly 90 minutes later.

At least 36 bodies had been recovered by midday Thursday, said the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, which is coordinating search efforts. Remains are being taken to a temporary morgue in nearby Sheerwater.

The airline said 137 Americans -- the largest single nationality aboard the plane -- were among the 215 passengers and 14 crew presumed dead. Some 30 French and 28 Swiss citizens were also on board the plane.

There was no evidence to suggest terrorism played a factor in the crash, U.S. and Canadian officials emphasized Thursday. Airlines worldwide have been on alert for possible terrorist acts since the United States last month bombed suspected terrorist facilities in retaliation for attacks on two U.S. embassies in Africa.

Large part of aircraft found

An RCMP superintendent near the crash site said what is believed to be the tail section of the plane had been found about six miles off shore.

Searchers recovering plane debris

It was about 70 to 150 feet below the surface, officials said.

While most of the recovery early Thursday was concentrated on the ocean surface, divers were on hand to aid in the recovery efforts, RCMP officials said.

Sonar equipment was being used to search for large parts of the plane and the black boxes, officials said.

Officials did not reveal the type of black boxes -- the data and voice recorders -- used on the aircraft, or whether the boxes were equipped with homing beacons.

Rain and high seas, fed by Hurricane Danielle, were hampering search efforts, and redistributing debris, officials said. The size of the search area was not given.

RELATED VIDEO
CNN's Jim Clancy reporting from Peggy's Cove
Windows Media	28K	56K
RELATED AUDIO:
"After I saw what was left..." --Jim Buckey, rescue worker AIFF or WAV (420 K / 36 sec. audio)
"We saw few life jackets ..." -- Rob Gordon, CBC News AIFF or WAV (252 K / 20 sec. audio) AIFF or WAV (476 K / 40 sec. audio)
"We thought it was a thunder ..."-- Wilfred Morash, witness AIFF or WAV (476 K / 40 sec. audio)
"We heard the plane coming down ..."-- Alberta Martin, witness AIFF or WAV (448 K / 37 sec. audio)

Most of the debris and remains recovered had been found floating in the ocean, but some items had washed ashore and been turned into RCMP stations, officials said.

Life-jackets, luggage, clothing and papers bobbed in the 61-degree Fahrenheit (16 Celsius) water. Jet fuel shimmered on the surface.

A lengthy quest for help?

Details emerging from Canadian and airline officials on Thursday suggested the crew -- and perhaps the passengers -- must have had significant time to ponder their fate.

The pilot's first distress call came in at 10:14 p.m. Nova Scotia time (9:14 EDT), when he reported smoke in the cockpit, said Roy Bears of the Canadian Transportation Safety Board. The plane was flying at 33,000 feet.

About 30 minutes passed before the plane disappeared from radar.

Bears said the pilot requested to be diverted to Boston, but that air traffic controllers said Halifax was closer.

An emergency wasn't declared until shortly after the plane turned toward Halifax, Bears said.

In his first distress call, the pilot indicated he would dump fuel to prepare for an emergency landing, but officials don't know if fuel was dumped from the aircraft, Bears said.

The plane was between 8,000 and 10,000 feet when it disappeared from radar screens, he said.

Canadian Coast Guard officials told CNN earlier Thursday that the MD-11 disappeared from radar about 10:48 p.m. local time (9:48 EDT). It was believed to be about seven miles off of Halifax.

Witnesses reported seeing a bright flash and hearing an explosion about the time the plane vanished.

U.N.: At least 7 staff members on board

Two infants and one Delta Air Lines flight attendant were known to be among those on board. Delta said 53 of the passengers held Delta tickets as part of a "code-share" agreement with Swissair.

Dr. Jonathan Mann, a former Harvard professor and an early pioneer in AIDS research, was said to be among the victims, along with his wife, Mary-Lou Clements-Mann.

The United Nations said at least 7 of its staff members were on board the flight. At U.N. headquarters in New York, flags from all over the world were lowered to half-staff to honor the Swissair Flight 111 victims.

Swissair officials said they used passports to base their estimates of the nationalities on board the flight, and cautioned that their estimates did not confirm residency status of the victims.

Swissair believes the victims were from the following countries: United States, 137; Switzerland, 28; France, 30; Saudi Arabia, 1; Germany, 3; Yugoslavia, 1; Afghanistan, 1; Greece, 2; Iran, 1; Spain, 1; St. Kitts, 1; Italy, 3; Russia, 1; the United Kingdom, 6.

Both the pilot and co-pilot were Swiss, the airline said.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.