Swiss emergency landing due to smoke in the cabin: crew member died

Emergency landing due to smoke in the cabin –

Crew member of the Swiss died, public prosecutor in Austria is investigating

A Swiss employee died a week after an emergency landing due to smoke in the cabin. The authorities have opened proceedings.

Published today at 5:04 p.m

The HB-JCD, the affected aircraft, at Graz Airport. The image from the airport webcam shows the damage to the left engine.

Photo: Graz Airport (screenshot)

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A week after Emergency landing of a Swiss aircraft in Graz due to smoke development in the cabin a crew member died. “It is with great shock and deep sadness that we have to announce that our young colleague died in the hospital in Graz on December 30, 2024,” says Swiss. The plane flying from Bucharest to Zurich had to land on December 23rd with engine problems and smoke in the cockpit and cabin.

Out of consideration for the relatives, Swiss said it did not want to provide any details about the young man’s cause of death on Monday evening. Since the emergency landing he has been in the intensive care unit in the hospital in Graz.

«The news leaves us deeply sad and stunned. Our thoughts are with the young man’s relatives, whose pain must be immeasurable,” Swiss boss Jens Fehlinger was quoted as saying in a media release.

What was the cause of the accident?

There was currently no information about the exact cause of the problems during the flight. Based on initial findings, the probable cause was a technical defect in one of the engines, Swiss only said.

According to the Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation (Bazl), the aircraft and engine manufacturers have been informed. From a technical point of view, no measures were indicated immediately after the incident, as the Bazl announced.

The Airbus A220 is a safe aircraft and the engines from Pratt & Whitney have accumulated over 36 million flight hours worldwide since they were put into service, emphasized Swiss. They trust these engines and will continue to fly with the A220.

However, the aircraft type had repeatedly had engine problems in the past. In incidents, parts of the engine were thrown outwards due to a malfunction, among other things. The incidents caused temporary operational halts, which also affected Swiss.

Assault investigation

Meanwhile, the Graz public prosecutor’s office initiated an investigation into possible negligent bodily harm. The investigation is intended to clarify the cause of the accident, said a spokesman for the Graz public prosecutor’s office on Monday.

Accordingly, a flight expert is supposed to determine why the plane that took off from Bucharest produced so much smoke that it was necessary to abort the flight. An investigation is currently underway into negligent bodily harm, with the final criminal assessment largely depending on the results of the expert report, said the authority spokesman.