Flight 111 - Talel Aronowicz

Stylistically reminiscent of Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis, this is a poignant, deeply personal graphic memoir that turns tragedy into a powerful journey of memory and healing. 

On September 2, 1998, Swissair Flight 111 departed John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, bound for Geneva, Switzerland. Less than an hour later, while flying over the Atlantic near Peggy’s Cove in Nova Scotia (Canada), the aircraft encountered smoke in the cockpit and ultimately crashed into the ocean, killing all 229 passengers and crew aboard. 

In Flight 111, Swiss comic artist Talel Aronowicz confronts the unspoken tragedy that has shaped her life. For decades, her grandparents’ deaths in that crash were a taboo—never spoken of, never understood. Through evocative artwork, journal‑like reflections, and intimate storytelling, she explores grief, memory, and the long shadow of loss, bringing readers along as she pieces together what really happened and what it meant. This memoir blurs history and personal discovery into a moving graphic novel that touches the heart while shedding light on a real‑world tragedy.