A Swiss International Air Lines Airbus A220-300 has landed safely in Zurich after the crew received a brake system fault indication on approach. Flight LX1417 from Belgrade carried 134 people, and passengers took the brace position as a precaution before touchdown.
Brake Warning on the Descent Into Zurich
The aircraft, registered HB-JCC, was operating the scheduled service from Belgrade in Serbia when the problem emerged. According to The Aviation Herald, the crew reported problems with the brakes while descending towards Zurich. Despite the warning, the pilots continued the approach to their planned destination.
Swiss later confirmed that the crew received a fault indication for one of the brake systems. In response, the flight deck briefed the cabin crew and asked them to inform passengers, Swiss newspaper Blick reported.
Passengers Told to Brace Before Touchdown
Because the crew could not rule out a difficult landing, they instructed passengers to adopt the brace position. Swiss spokesperson Nicole Meier told Blick the instruction was “purely a precautionary measure”. She added that the safety of staff and passengers always comes first for the airline.
One passenger gave Blick a more dramatic account. He said the captain announced around 30 minutes before landing that one of the four brakes had failed. In addition, he described panic in the cabin when the crew called the brace command shortly before touchdown.
Emergency Services Escort the Jet at Zurich
The A220 touched down safely on runway 16 at Zurich. Afterwards, it vacated the runway and taxied to a remote stand, with emergency services following closely behind.
Passengers then left the aircraft normally. Swiss also offered support to anyone who found the experience distressing, and one person accepted. Meanwhile, the airline praised the crew for handling the situation in an exemplary manner. Its engineers are now examining the aircraft’s brake system.
The Aircraft Involved
HB-JCC is an Airbus A220-300 named Verzasca, and it is now 9.3 years old. According to Planespotters, it carries manufacturer serial number 55012 and was built at Montreal Mirabel under the test registration C-FPBZ.
The jet arrived in Zurich on 26 August 2017 and entered service two days later. Swiss Global initially operated the aircraft until April 2018, when it moved to the main Swiss fleet. Today, it seats 145 passengers and flies with two Pratt & Whitney PW1500G engines.
A Familiar Airframe in Incident Reports
This is not the first notable event for HB-JCC. In October 2019, the jet suffered an uncontained engine failure while flying from London Heathrow to Geneva and diverted to Paris Charles de Gaulle. As a result, Swiss grounded its entire A220 fleet for engine inspections.
Brake issues have also touched the Swiss A220 fleet this year. In March, an A220-100 returned to Zurich after the airline reported a technical problem with some of its brakes.
HB-JCC Returns to Service From Zurich
Swiss returned HB-JCC to service about 15 hours after landing, according to The Aviation Herald. So far, the airline has not published the cause of the fault indication. However, the quick turnaround shows engineers were satisfied that the aircraft was safe to fly again.
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