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AirCraft Casualty Emotional Support Services

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Effects of EgyptAir 990
Lynn Romano Zimney, lost her Brother Raymond, age 44, on Swissair 111, Nova Scotia, September 2, 1998.

The news of EgyptAir flight 990 had an affect on me that was surprising. Initially when I heard it my mind did not want to process it and I distracted myself with daily routines. Within 24 hours as the media's coverage intensified, I found myself identifying more and more with the families. I felt similar feelings a little over a year ago when Swissair 111 fatally crashed into the sea with my only brother on board. The news of the families traveling to the crash site, expecting to retrieve their loved ones, and then realizing they would not be doing so, created a wrenching feeling. At the same time, I felt helpless in an effort to console them and knew that it was too soon to reach out to them.

In September 1999, I attended the one-year anniversary ceremonies in Canada for Swissair 111. That experience was so emotional and the connection I felt toward other families, was unexplainable. It took me about a month to unwind from that experience. Just as I felt I was moving on, the news of Egyptair 990 set me back to September 1998.

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