The provisional cause of death of a crew member after an emergency landing of a Swiss plane in Austria has been established. Hypoxic brain injury has been established as the provisional cause of the death of a crew member after the emergency landing of a Swiss Airbus in Graz, Austria, on December 23. The brain of the deceased, a 23-year-old steward, was severely damaged by lack of oxygen and cerebral edema was also noted. At least that’s what a spokesperson for the Graz public prosecutor’s office confirmed this Sunday to the Keystone-ATS agency.
The autopsy of the body carried out on Friday also established that the victim also suffered from purulent bronchitis and had an enlarged heart, but investigators do not know if these last two elements had an influence in the tragedy. . The autopsy will still be followed by chemical and histological analyzes in the laboratory. Examinations which should make it possible to know the exact reasons for brain damage.
Failing masks?
The final evaluation is expected to last several weeks. This involves examining what role the possibly faulty special protective mask used by the crew in the event of toxic fumes and vapors may have played.
According to the NZZ on Sunday and the Sunday Viewthe plane was equipped with this type of mask, but some stewards could not have adequately protected themselves. A company spokeswoman said Swiss had organized special training courses in April for the use of these masks.
The Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office is also following the case, as revealed in the Sunday newspaper. He is not currently conducting a criminal investigation, but is in close contact with Austrian authorities, according to a spokesperson.
Reminder of the facts
As a reminder, this death of a serving steward, the first in the history of the Swiss company, occurred following a failure of an A220-300 aircraft carrying 79 people and which had taken off from Bucharest to reach Zurich, before having to make an emergency landing in Graz due to the release of smoke in the aircraft. An anomaly of an unprecedented type in one of the reactors was mentioned. The passengers were evacuated by slide, and five crew members and 12 passengers required medical treatment.
