A former Canadian sailor won't be allowed to sue Swissair over the crash of Flight 111 in 1998, a judge ruled on Wednesday.

• IN DEPTH: Swissair Flight 111

Lorne Joudrey, then a sailor aboard HMCS Preserver, says he suffered emotional and psychological damage while he helped recover the bodies of people killed in the crash.

Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice Arthur Pickup said in a ruling on Wednesday that he sympathizes with Joudrey and others who shared his trauma, but threw out his case against Swissair.

Joudrey had wanted to sue the airline, claiming its negligence caused the crash and ruined his life.

• FROM JUNE 17, 2004: Court reserves decision in Swissair lawsuit

Swissair Flight 111 crashed off Peggy's Cove, N.S., on Sept. 2, 1998. All 229 people on board were killed.

Joudrey and hundreds of other people, military and civilian, worked for weeks to recover the shattered bodies of the dead.

He's the only one to sue the airline.

A month after the cleanup was over, Joudrey was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. He was discharged from the navy as unfit for duty.