Faulty mask?

Dead flight attendant: Swiss does not want to speculate

On Wednesday, the fatal plane was reparked on the tarmac. It is due to take off on its flight home soon.(Bild: Jürgen Fuchs)

Following the death of a Swiss steward after the emergency landing in Graz, the public prosecutor's office in Graz is investigating the circumstances. It is possible that his protective breathing mask was faulty. The airline refers to the ongoing investigation: They do not want to speculate.

It was the day before Christmas Eve when thick smoke formed in the cabin of an Airbus A220-300 aircraft of the Swiss airline Swiss on its way from Bucharest to Zurich due to a problem with the left engine. After 20 minutes of steep descent, the pilots managed to make an emergency landing in Graz.

First fatality in history
The incident was not without consequences: Twelve of the 74 passengers had to seek medical attention. Two of the five crew members were taken to hospital. A young flight attendant from the canton of Zurich died. It was the first death of a crew member due to a mission in the history of Swiss.

The focus is now on the airline's breathing masks, as the deceased - at least according to the current state of the investigation - was the only one wearing a mask to date. Swiss spokesman Michael Pelzer, who is bombarded daily by international media, refers to the ongoing investigation.

At the moment, we cannot say with certainty when the aircraft in question will resume regular flight operations

Swiss-Sprecher Michael Pelzer

Bild: Christian Jauschowetz

He left the question about the masks unanswered: "We don't want to speculate." But: "We are not ruling anything out." Information will only be provided once we have reliable information. The company is in close contact with the public prosecutor's office and the Federal Security Investigation Office, "and we are giving the authorities our full support".

Engine of the fatal plane replaced
The affected aircraft has now been fitted with a replacement engine in Graz - the original is being checked by the manufacturer in the USA. The aircraft will be transferred to Zurich later this week, where further work will be carried out. 

"This will include a thorough check of the systems during a flight without passengers. At the moment, we cannot say with any certainty when we will return the aircraft in question to regular flight operations," said Swiss spokesperson Michael Pelzer. Nor when the investigations will all be completed.