Swiss flight attendant dies week after smoke compelled airplane’s emergency touchdown

A flight attendant aboard a Swiss plane that made an emergency touchdown in Austria as a result of smoke within the cabin has died, the airline mentioned Tuesday.

The flight from Bucharest to Zurich on Dec. 23 was diverted to Graz after engine issues and smoke stuffed the cockpit and the cabin, Swiss Worldwide Air Traces mentioned in an announcement.

It mentioned the attendant died Monday in intensive care within the hospital in Graz. The attendant was considered one of two crew members who had been hospitalized. All 74 passengers aboard the Airbus A220-300 had been evacuated after flight LX1885 landed safely, Swiss mentioned.

“We’re devastated at our pricey colleague’s loss of life,” Swiss Chief Govt Officer Jens Fehlinger mentioned within the assertion. “His loss has left us all within the deepest shock and grief. Our ideas are together with his household, whose ache we can not think about. I supply them my heartfelt condolences on behalf of all of us at Swiss.”

Swiss is a subsidiary of German airline Lufthansa.

Swiss mentioned in its assertion that “out of respect for the family members, we is not going to present detailed details about our worker or the reason for loss of life.”

“Thanks prematurely for serving to us be sure that the household have the time and the privateness to grieve,” the airline added. 

Twelve passengers acquired medical consideration after the incidet, Agence France-Presse reported. The airline on Tuesday mentioned that every one passengers who had been admitted to hospital had since been capable of depart.  

The general public prosecutor’s workplace in Graz has ordered a forensic examination of the attendant’s physique, Austria’s APA information company reported. It has additionally appointed an aviation skilled and initiated an investigation into the reason for the accident.

Following the incident, Swiss mentioned it was additionally conducting an inside examination.

“We wish to completely make clear the causes of the smoke and the results on passengers and crew,” the airline wrote on Thursday. “The main target is on the mechanical components of the plane, such because the engine, but additionally on the usage of protecting tools for the cabin crew, often known as Protecting Respiratory Tools.”

The airline mentioned preliminary findings “level to a technical downside in one of many engines,” including that it was “not ruling out something and are working intently with the related authorities, the engine producer Pratt & Whitney and the plane producer Airbus.”

“That is the saddest of days for us all,” Swiss COO Oliver Buchhofer mentioned in an announcement. “Shedding our colleague and fellow member of our SWISS group leaves me distraught and dismayed. However we stand with each other at this really troublesome time; and we will likely be doing our utmost, along with the related authorities, to find out the causes concerned. We’ve many questions, and we would like them answered.”