By Alison Auld / The Canadian Press

Lawyers representing families of victims of Swissair Flight 111 say their case has been helped immensely by revelations that Mylar insulation likely spurred a fire on the doomed jetliner.

Lee Kreindler, whose firm represents about 76 victims of the Swissair crash off Nova Scotia last year, said the insulation-related news earlier this week from the lead investigating agency adds weight to the plaintiff's case.

"It's dynamite," Kreindler said Friday from his law office in Manhatten. "From a case standpoint, it's great. It's a dramatic new element."

The Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday that metalized Mylar blankets used inside the bulkheads of the Swissair jet was a significant factor in the spread of fire.

Kreindler, the lead plaintiff, said the TSB's announcement is unusual in aviation litigation. Investigative agencies tend not to release that kind of information until a final report has been completed.

"It has gone further than any other board in the past in identifying causation," Kreindler said. "That will have a very significant effect on the case."

Investigators haven't determined the cause of the crash, but have focused on burnt wiring found in the forward cabin that might be linked to Mylar insulation.

The Swiss pilots of the New York-to-Geneva flight last Sept. 2 reported smoke in the cockpit when they were just minutes from Halifax airport. They had turned away from the airport to dump fuel for an emergency landing when the aircraft plunged into the ocean off Peggy's Cove, killing all 229 people on baord.

Jim Kreindler, Lee Kreindler's brother and law partner, said a lawsuit might also name Du Pont since the company makes Mylar. Asked what the chances were of Du Pont being named, Lee Kreindler said, "Pretty good."

That would add another defendant to a list that already includes Swissair's parent group SAir Group, SR Technics, Delta Air Lines Inc. and Inflight Technologies.

In an unprecedented move earlier this month, Swissair and Boeing Co. offered compensatory damages to relatives. The offer was made in a Philadelphia court where 167 cases are pending against the defendants.

Swissair agreed to share "liability for this accident for full compensatory damages," but cautioned that doesn't represent an admission of guilt.

Lawyers have asked for $16 billion in damages, likely making it the biggest payouts in aviation history if successful. It would surpass the $500 million awarded after the Pan Am crash over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988.

One family member set off the lawsuits days after the crash when he filed a $50-million suit after the loss of his son.

The plaintiffs might be hampered if the judge presiding over the case agrees to set damages in the U.S. cases under the Death on the High Seas Act, which could substantially limit the awards.

"If the manufacturers or Swissair think these cases are going to be settled for lower amounts because of the Death on the High Seas Act ... they're not going to settle any cases," said Lee Kreindler. "We are going to crank this new asset (Mylar) into the picture and make sure we get enough money."

Lawyers for both sides said they planned to meet next week to discuss possible settlements involving eight to 10 families.

Based partly on recommendations of the Canadian investigators, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is soon expected to order the metalized Mylar insulation blankets replaced on nearly 700 commercial airliners within four years.

U.S. authorities said the material fails a flame-retardancy test about to be instituted.

The FAA decision comes after an urgent advisory from the TSB recommending use of the blankets be reduced or eliminated. "There are indications that a significant source of the combustible materials that sustained the fire was thermal acoustical insulation blanket material," the safety board said Wednesday.

The blankets have been identified as a major factor in several other aircraft fires. McDonnell Douglas, Boeing-owned makers of the MD-11, told operators to stop using metalized Mylar in 1997.