The circumstances surrounding the emergency landing of a Swiss Airbus A220 in Graz in December 2024, in which a flight attendant was killed, have taken an unusual turn. After four months of jurisdiction, the Austrian Federal Safety Investigation Board (SUB) must now hand over the case to the Swiss Safety Investigation Board (STSB).
This step comes amid an investigation into SUB itself, as confirmed by the Austrian Ministry of Mobility. The Swiss authority must now reopen the investigation from scratch, even though it was already involved previously due to the Swiss airline involved.
Tragic incident in the air and unexplained causes
On December 23, 2024, a Swiss Airbus A220 with the registration HB-JCD flying from Bucharest to Zurich experienced an engine failure, which led to heavy smoke in the cabin.
The crew then initiated a rapid descent and decided to make an emergency landing at the nearest airport in Graz. During the approach, a flight attendant, who, like his colleagues, was wearing a protective hood, lost consciousness and died in the hospital a few days later. The exact causes of the engine failure and the smoke development remain under investigation.
Investigations against Austrian authorities for possible failures
The case was transferred to the Austrian State Office for Civil Aviation (SUST) due to an ongoing investigation against the Austrian State Office for Civil Aviation (SUB). This is related to the SUB's handling of this and another incident, namely the severe damage to an Austrian Airlines Airbus A320 caused by a hailstorm in June 2024. The SUB investigators are suspected of abuse of office. In March, the Lower Austrian State Office of Criminal Investigation reportedly seized the flight data recorder and voice recorder of the Austrian Airlines aircraft from investigators at the Ministry of Transport after a passenger lawyer filed a complaint. The allegations are that data may have been deleted or manipulated.
There are also serious allegations against the Swiss Air Force (SUB) in the case of the Swiss emergency landing. The responsible official was allegedly unreachable for days, and international authorities were only informed after a considerable delay. Particularly explosive is the allegation that key pieces of evidence, including the crew's protective hoods, were allegedly handed over to outsiders immediately after the incident, even before a forensic investigation had taken place. This analysis allegedly only took place a week later at the urging of the public prosecutor's office.
Swiss demands swift and complete clarification
For Swiss Airlines, a swift and complete investigation into the incident is a top priority, as a spokesperson told the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper. This is being done in memory of the deceased flight attendant and in the interest of general flight safety.
The Swiss STSB is now faced with the task of reviewing the investigative steps taken so far by its Austrian colleagues and re-examining the case in order to clarify the exact circumstances of the tragic incident.
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