Emergency landing in Graz

Autopsy: Flight attendant died from lack of oxygen

The plane after the emergency landing at Graz airport

(Bild: Jauschowetz Christian)

After a Swiss airline plane had to make an emergency landing in Graz and a flight attendant died, it is now clear that the 23-year-old died from a lack of oxygen. His brain had suffered massive damage. His breathing mask is still the focus of investigations - the protective mask in question had attracted attention in the past due to defects. 

The emergency landing of the plane, which was on its way from Bucharest to Zurich, took place on December 23rd after heavy smoke developed in the cabin and cockpit - engine problems are said to have been the cause of the malfunction. The flight attendant is said to have fallen unconscious on board. After a week in intensive care, the young Swiss man died on December 30. 

Lack of oxygen and brain swelling
The public prosecutor's office in Graz launched an investigation after the death. "The body was autopsied on Friday. The preliminary cause of death is: hypoxic brain damage and cerebral edema", spokesman Hansjörg Bacher told "Blick". The 23-year-old had suffered a severe lack of oxygen - how exactly this could have happened is still being evaluated in the laboratory. 

In addition, the autopsy revealed an "extremely enlarged heart" for his age and there were indications that the Swiss man had purulent bronchitis. "It is unclear whether there is a connection with the cause of death," Bacher explained. 

An escape hood, which is part of the flight crew's protective equipment.

(Bild: APA/Wikipedia/Slowking4 (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Known problems with protective equipment
The protective equipment is also the focus of the investigation: "We are also investigating the role played by the respirator mask that the flight attendant was wearing." Problems with the mask had been known for some time: The airline was forced to admit in October 2023 that the protective equipment was "partially faulty". The defects concerned special masks with oxygen generators for the crew, "so that breathing is possible even when there is smoke in the cabin and the crew members can move around unhindered", it said. 

Crew ready to testify in Graz 
The public prosecutor's office in Graz is now investigating, among other things, in this connection and for negligent homicide and personal injury. The airline is helping with the investigation: "Swiss is cooperating and has assured us via a lawyer in Vienna that the crew is willing to come to Graz to testify on site," said Bacher. Although there is no criminal investigation in Switzerland as yet, the spokesperson for the Office of the Attorney General told the SonntagsZeitung that they are in contact with the Austrian authorities.