The passenger cabin of a Swiss Airlines flight started to fill with smoke while the plane was flying, prompting an emergency landing. It's every flyer's worst nightmare, and the incident caused multiple injuries.
Videos by Wide Open Country
According to Swiss news outlet 20 Minuten, the cabin of the Airbus A220-300 was engulfed in a thick smoke. "Engine problems" have been blamed for the incident, although authorities have given no further details at the time of writing. The fumes injured 12 passengers and five crew members, with one of the staff requiring treatment in intensive care.
The Swiss flight departed from Bucharest en route to Zurich, but the engine trouble prompted a landing in Graz, Austria.
Witness testimonies suggest there was some kind of explosion or damage to one of the engines before the cabin started filling with smoke. According to news outlet Kleine Zeitung, one passenger who was sleeping before the incident said:
"It was a strange noise, a lot of smoke, and people couldn't breathe. I didn't know what had happened."
Following the emergency landing, Swiss posted an update on X explaining, "All 74 passengers and five crew members have been evacuated, with 17 requiring medical attention. A special flight will depart tomorrow at 09:45 to return passengers to Zurich."
Passengers Have Many Questions Regarding The Plane Incident
A spokesperson for Swiss cited how their pilots are trained for these situations. "The contingency plans worked exactly how they should work." Despite the smooth emergency landing, some passengers are frustrated at how airline staff handled the situation.
According to Kleine Zeitung, the part that has drawn the most ire is that the cabin crew did not deploy oxygen masks. The outlet explains that this makes sense, as the masks are usually to counter a drop in cabin pressure. Oxygen masks can also worsen the problem if there's a fire in the cabin.
Another passenger notes widespread panic onboard the airline, including from the flight attendants. The passenger also explained that they were not allowed to take luggage off the plane after the emergency landing, which caused issues while checking in on Tuesday.
Swiss is working with authorities to investigate the accident.
