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Now that nearly 41/2 years of work to complete the report into the crash of Swissair Flight 111 is over, the lead investigator believes more work still lies ahead.

Vic Gerden oversaw one of the most complex and comprehensive air-crash investigations yet. At the cost of $57 million, the Transportation Safety Board pioneered new techniques for the recovery of crash debris and using computer-models to figure how and why a catastrophic fire spread through the ceiling of the MD-11 jet, crippling the plane during its flight from New York to Geneva.

Now, the board intends to make sure 23 safety recommendations made during the long investigation are followed by airlines, aircraft manufacturers and agencies regulating the aviation industry.

“We’re not all done. We continue to monitor the progress of the work we’ve done. So we will follow our recommendations as they are introduced,” Gerden said in an interview with The Daily News.

Flight 111 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near Peggy’s Cove on Sept. 2, 1998, killing all 229 people on board.

On Thursday, the board released its 337-page report into the crash, finding that a spark from a wire ignited flammable insulation material in a hidden area of the plane’s ceiling. The fire spread rapidly, and interfered with the plane’s flight systems before the pilots could determine where smoke in the cockpit was coming from.

Sweeping improvements

Investigators recommended sweeping improvements to air safety, including better flammability standards for material used in aircraft, improved fire detection and suppression techniques, firefighting plans for aircrews and improved procedures for dealing with an inflight fire.

No Canadian-registered jets have the same type of flammable insulation blankets found on Flight 111, and steps are being taken to remove the metallized polyethylene terephthalate (CORR) coated insulation material from planes around the world.

Gerden said that is a good indication the aviation industry is taking the Swissair findings seriously.

“The issues we’ve highlighted in the report affect all of the large aircraft in this world, and there are 12,000 of them. So the changes have to be done in a harmonized way,” said Gerden.

Airlines and manufacturers have to know what the standards are, how to meet them and be given time to comply, he said.

“Progress had been made, and will continue to be made over time. These changes won’t take place overnight,” he said.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, the largest aviation regulator in the world, has issued numerous safety actions regarding wiring and aircraft insulation material as a result of the Swissair investigation.

FAA spokesman Les Dorr said Flight 111 is still being studied by the agency.

rdooley@hfxnews.ca