Errors in the investigation? Serious accusations after Swiss emergency landing in Graz
Following the emergency landing of a Swiss flight in Graz, the investigating authorities have come under heavy criticism. A Viennese law firm has now filed a criminal complaint.
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- Serious errors are said to have occurred during the investigation into the emergency landing of the Swiss Airbus A220 in Graz.
- A flight attendant died in hospital after the landing due to a severe lack of oxygen.
- A Viennese law firm now even suspects corruption and obstruction of justice - and is pressing criminal charges.
The incident caused quite a stir: On December 23 last year, a Swiss Airbus A220 on its way from Bucharest to Zurich had to make an emergency landing in Graz. An engine malfunction caused smoke to form in the cabin.
Twelve passengers and four crew members required medical attention. A 23-year-old flight attendant from Zurich then died in hospital due to severe oxygen deprivation, despite wearing a special mask.
According to the "Tages-Anzeiger" newspaper, serious errors by the responsible Federal Safety Investigation Board (SUB) have now come to light during the investigation: A Viennese law firm even suspects corruption and obstruction of justice - and is pressing criminal charges.
Whether the mask worked correctly is a key part of the ongoing investigation by the public prosecutor's office. There were also irregularities in the process: SUB employees had, for example, taken away the possibly defective masks in a bin bag without the knowledge of the public prosecutor's office. It was not until a week later that this evidence was forensically examined.
However, according to the criminal complaint filed by the Viennese law firm, it is also questionable why the SUB tried to have the incident treated as a simple "disturbance" and not, as required, as an "accident". In the case of an "accident", the investigations are more extensive and detailed. This was only changed after the death of the flight attendant.
The head of the SUB investigation was also allegedly unavailable to those involved, such as Swiss. Only when the Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board (STSB) became involved did an exchange take place, as reported by the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper. The STSB has now taken over some points of the investigation.
For the SUB, these allegations are false and the authority sees no misconduct. The lawyers from the Viennese law firm see things differently with their criminal complaint.
