Information and discussion of the crash, investigation, victims and survivors of  Swissair 111, what went wrong, why, who was responsible and how will such tragedies be prevented in the future.

MICHAIL ITKIS, CEO OF INTERACTIVE FLIGHT TECHNOLOGY
CHANGES NAME TO MIKE SNOW

A source that doesn't wish to be named has passed the following information to me. Michail Itkis, former CEO of the now defunct company that conceived and manufactured the entertainment system (IFEN) that has been named as almost certainly causing Swissair 111 to crashm has changed his name from Michail Itkis

 to Mike Snow. I don't even want to speculate on the reasons for this though I certainly have my own thoughts about this privately. Here is the information:

"Michail Itkis has re-surfaced as the president of an Arizona-based

company that manufactures cargo trailers.

The company is called Interstate Group LLC, which has recently relocated

its operations to the state of Arkansas, with much fanfare from Governor

Mike Huckabee.

Itkis has changed his name to Mike Snow, as did his wife Lauren

Snopkowski (who also worked at IFT) - now Lauren Snow."

http://www.conwayarkansas.org/archive/archive15.html

http://www.interstatecargo.com/

http://www.1800arkansas.com/index.cfm?page=news_article&article=55

http://www.todaysthv.com/news/news.asp?storyid=6357

http://www.arkansas.gov/governor/media/radio/text/r07122003.html

http://www.arkansas.gov/governor/current_events/events_2003_p2.html

(including possible photo of Michail Itkis sitting behind Arkansas Gov

Mike Huckabee)

Doomed plane's gaming system exposes holes in FAA oversight

By Gary Stoller, USA TODAY (Feb 17, 2003)

A small Las Vegas company with large ambitions and marquee investors sold U.S. regulators and Swissair on a video gaming system for airplanes. Until Flight 111 crashed, no one realized how many chances had been taken with passengers' safety.

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Swiss News Reports TSB Draft Report Says IFEN Substantially Contributed to Swissair 111 Crash

In an article that appears in the Swiss paper SonntagsZeitung Von Andrea Bleicher and Adrian Schulthess report (excerpts translated from German, emphasis added):

"An energy consuming monster," says Barbara Fetherolf - revealing the anger of the American who lost her 16 year old daughter Tara in the crash. Her anger is justified!

The investigation authority has concluded that the onboard TV (entertainment system) is responsible, at least in part, for the catastrophe near Halifax.

This information is from the official draft accident report, which devotes several dozen pages to the IFEN.

Sonntagzeitung has learned from Several independent sources that the IFEN is substantially involved in the actual crash.

The manufacturer of the supposed high tech miracle was Interactive Flight Technologies, of Phoenix, Arizona. The fact that the firm had no experience in the manufacture of on-board aircraft support systems - Swissair was its first and only large customer - didn't bother the Swissair management. Weaknesses in the IFEN appeared almost immediately after the installation; it drew too much current, the cabin heated up and it was not immune to total blackouts. Moreover, the IFEN was connected to the aircraft's main power supply - a fact that played an important role in the crash.

The report also suggests that the pilots waited too long to land, but how heavily this weighs is not determined.

An anonymous informant who directed an email to survivors last week and who is close to the investigation reported that the origin of the accident was traced to the cables of the IFEN. For people (loved ones) of the victims, this communication, the contents of which they believe is correct, has let loose a new wave of anger at the time of the anniversary of the crash.

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