Investigation Summary
The first EICAS message, "L ENGINE FAULT - OIL DEBRIS ABOVE LIMIT", appeared at 16:32:12 UTC while the aircraft was at FL400 roughly 50 NM east of Graz. Smoke developed in both the cockpit and the cabin, a Mayday was declared at 16:34:51 UTC and the aircraft landed on runway 34C at Graz at 16:53:10 UTC. The evacuation began at 16:55:18 UTC and used four of the six exits. Austria's SUB found damage to the left engine's Front Drive Gear System and to bearings No. 2 and No. 4; the performance of the protective breathing equipment (PBE) smoke hoods and the reason doors 1R and 2R were not used remain under investigation. The affected engine was manufactured on 30 July 2021 and installed in the left position on 8 July 2024, with maintenance requirements and airworthiness directives complied with. At Austria's request of 9 April 2025 the Swiss STSB/SUST took over the investigation on 11 April 2025.
Final Conclusions
No final report exists. The latest official documents are the SUB Written Preliminary Report and the SUST Statusbericht of 19 November 2025, which expects a final report in Q4 2026. The SUST is examining the engine failure sequence, the origin of the cabin smoke, the PBE defects, the emergency procedures and systemic aspects. Official injuries: one crew member fatally injured, one crew member seriously injured, three crew and three passengers slightly injured and 71 people uninjured.
Video Analysis
Swiss A220 Emergency Landing in Graz — Footage and analysis of Swiss Flight LX1885 following an engine failure and cabin smoke event that led to a fatal outcome.
If playback is blocked, the owner has disabled embedding — use the link above.
Airframe & Maintenance
Systems & Failure Modes
Pratt & Whitney PW1500G
The Geared Turbofan engine that failed. SUB found damage to the Front Drive Gear System and to bearings No. 2 and No. 4.
Environmental Control System (ECS)
The system supplying cabin pressurization and air conditioning from engine bleed air. Smoke reached the cockpit and cabin; the pathway by which it did so remains under investigation per the SUST Statusbericht of 19 November 2025.
Emergency Evacuation Slides
Used on the runway at Graz to evacuate the 74 passengers and 5 crew; four of the six exits were used.
Interesting Facts
- 01The affected engine was the left (No. 1) PW1524G-3; the aircraft was at FL400, not FL360.
- 02The aircraft was HB-JCD, an Airbus A220-300 carrying 74 passengers and 5 crew.
- 03Official injuries: 1 crew fatal, 1 crew serious, 3 crew and 3 passengers minor, 71 uninjured.
- 04SUB found damage to the engine's Front Drive Gear System and to bearings No. 2 and No. 4.
- 05The engine was manufactured on 30 July 2021 and installed in the left position on 8 July 2024; maintenance and airworthiness directives were complied with.
- 06Switzerland's SUST has led the investigation since 11 April 2025, with a final report expected in Q4 2026.
Safety Actions & Advisories
SUB Written Preliminary Report
Source ↗Austria's SUB published a written preliminary report recording the sequence, the engine damage found and the open questions on the PBE smoke hoods and the unused doors 1R and 2R.
Investigation transferred to Switzerland
Source ↗The SUB requested transfer on 9 April 2025 and the Swiss SUST accepted on 11 April 2025. Its Statusbericht of 19 November 2025 lists the engine failure sequence, the cabin smoke origin, the PBE defects, the emergency procedures and systemic aspects as focus areas.
Location
APPROXIMATE AREA ONLY · This position predates coordinate provenance tracking. Treat it as an approximate marker for the area, not the accident site. No map is shown, because a marker here would imply a precision the record does not have.
Reported location: Graz Airport (GRZ), Austria