A serious incident shook flight LX1885 of the Swiss airline Swiss shortly before Christmas. The Airbus A220-300 had to make an emergency landing at Graz Airport on December 23, 2024 after a sudden engine failure and smoke development at the cruising altitude of around 12.190 meters. As Swiss later announced, the aircraft's left engine had been severely damaged. Initial analyses by the Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board (SUST) indicate a previously unknown technical problem.
During the emergency landing, two crew members were seriously injured and taken to hospital in Graz. A young flight attendant succumbed to his injuries on December 30, 2024. Passengers were largely uninjured in the incident. The Airbus with the registration HB-JCD was returned to Zurich and is currently undergoing extensive tests there to further investigate the causes of the incident.
The investigation into the incident is being led by the Austrian Federal Safety Investigation Board (SUB). Experts are examining whether the newly occurring engine fault poses a systemic risk for the Airbus A220 series. Swiss is in close contact with the authorities and the engine manufacturer to prevent further incidents.