There were 74 passengers and five crew members onboard the Airbus A220-300 when it was forced to make an emergency landing after what is initially thought to have been an engine issue
A major European airline’s flight has been forced to make an emergency landing in a chain of events that led to the death of a crew member. It has been suggested from initial investigations that a technical defect from one of the engines caused smoke to fill the cabin onboard a Swiss International Air Lines flight from Bucharest, Romania, to Zurich, Switzerland.
There were 74 passengers and five crew members onboard the Airbus A220-300 when it was forced to make an emergency landing in Graz, Austria on December 23. After the landing, 12 people were treated at the scene following an evacuation, with one worker taken to hospital where they were put in intensive care, the Sun reports, while another member of cabin crew was also taken to hospital.
Tragically, one week on, one member of cabin crew has now passed away in hospital.
A Swiss International Air Lines spokesman said: “We must report, with the deepest of sorrow and regret, that our young colleague died in the hospital in Graz on Monday.”
Chief executive Jens Fehlinger added: “We are devastated at our dear colleague’s death. His loss has left us all in the deepest shock and grief. Our thoughts are with his family, whose pain we cannot imagine. I offer them my heartfelt condolences on behalf of all of us at SWISS. And we will, of course, be doing everything in our power to help and support them at this extremely difficult time.”
Now, prosecutors in Austria are looking into the possibility of negligence causing bodily injury.
Swiss chief operating officer Oliver Buchhofer added: “This is the saddest of days for us all. Losing our colleague and fellow member of our SWISS team leaves me distraught and dismayed. But we stand with one another at this truly difficult time; and we will be doing our utmost, together with the relevant authorities, to determine the causes involved.
“We have many questions, and we want them answered. Our special thanks go to the responsible parties in Graz, particularly the local emergency services, who have given our passengers and our crew members such professional help and support.”