SWISS crew member ‘died as a result of oxygen deprivation’

Preliminary cause of death of Swiss crew member determined Keystone-SDA

A Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) crew member died of brain damage resulting from lack of oxygen, following an emergency landing last month, Swiss media have reported.

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At the request of the Keystone-SDA news agency, the public prosecutor’s office in Graz confirmed corresponding media reports on Sunday. The preliminary cause of death is hypoxic brain damage and cerebral edema, said Hansjörg Bacher, spokesman for the public prosecutor, on the telephone.

The 23-year-old flight attendant’s brain had been severely damaged due to a severe lack of oxygen and he had died as a result.

Chemical and histological examinations would now have to be carried out to find out exactly how this massive brain damage had occurred. It will take several weeks before the definitive cause of death is known, said Bacher.

SWISS flight LX1885, which was en route from Bucharest to Zurich, was forced to make an emergency landing in Graz due to smoke in the cockpit and cabin on December 23.

The cabin crew member died in hospital on December 30.

According to Bacher, investigations are also underway into the role played by the flight attendant’s breathing mask.

The NZZ am Sonntag and SonntagsBlick newspapers also report on the cause of death and the investigative focus on breathing masks.

The newspapers report that SWISS is in the process of replacing the masks in its fleet. But masks on A220 aircraft, including the fatal flight last month, have not yet been updated.

Adapted from German by DeepL/mga

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