Today marks 19 years since Helios Airways' fatal crash

Nineteen years have passed since the tragic crash on August 14, 2005, of the Boeing 737-31S aircraft of Helios Airways in the mountainous area of Grammatiko in Attica, Greece. The devastating end of Helios Airways flight HCY 522 from Larnaca to Prague, with a connecting stop in Athens, resulted in the deaths of 121 people from Cyprus and Greece.

The crash happened at 12:04 in Grammatiko, Attica. All 115 passengers, including 22 children, and six crew members tragically died in the crash. Out of 115 passengers, 12 were from Greece. The fire that broke out after the crash completely burned three of the bodies, and 118 charred corpses were pulled out of the debris.

Autopsies on the bodies showed that the victims had a heartbeat at the time of the crash, but it was estimated that they were in a deep coma due to hypoxia (lack of oxygen). The causes of death were multiple injuries caused by the crash and extensive burns on some bodies.

The Flight

The ill-fated aircraft had left Larnaca airport on the morning of August 14th, 2005, and entered Athens FIR (Flight Information Region) at 10:15 am without any communication with the control tower. Two F16 fighter jets that took off from Nea Anchialos at 11:05 had visual contact with the Helios aircraft at 11:18 and noted that the co-pilot was unconscious and the pilot was not in the cockpit. The aircraft's oxygen mask supply system had been activated.

As soon as the masks ran out of oxygen, all passengers and the pilots lost consciousness. The aircraft ran out of fuel, and soon after, it lost both engines. Flight attendant Andreas Prodromou, who was the last one to remain conscious, attempted to take control of the aircraft but failed. At 12:04, the plane crashed without any survivors.

The Causes of the Tragedy

A report by the Greek Accident and Flight Safety Investigative Committee was released in October 2006, 14 months after the crash. The report named the mechanics who checked the aircraft before the fatal flight and the aircraft operators as co-responsible for the manual setting of the aircraft's pressurization regulator. The operators were also found responsible for not taking timely action based on the warnings they had.

The report considered the information on "double" sound warnings and indications, which Boeing fixed after the tragic crash. Also, it was proven that Boeing's instruction manuals did not include clear instructions to turn the pressurization regulator to "manual."

Additionally, the report mentioned issues with the crew's action plan and communication between the operators in the cockpit and the flight attendants in the passenger cabin. The final cause of the crash, following the above, was the loss of the aircraft's engines due to fuel exhaustion.

The Trials

Five Helios Airlines executives were tried in Nicosia, Cyprus, for homicide and causing death due to a thoughtless, reckless, or dangerous act. The trial started on September 17th, 2009, and on February 18th, 2013, the defendants were acquitted of all charges after the Court decided that the indictment was "unsubstantiated" and that there was no evidence linking them to the crash. The General Attorney decided to suspend the prosecution due to insurmountable difficulties in advancing the case. Four executives of Helios Airlines were found guilty in a court in Greece.

Akrivos Tsolakis, the investigator who conducted the report on the causes of the crash, passed away in October 2023 at 93. Three years earlier, in an interview with the Cyprus News Agency, he said that the Helios crash was the most tragic event he had ever experienced in his life, which had deprived him of sleep ever since.

The findings included in the report resulted in various amendments on behalf of the aircraft's construction company and the World Civil Aviation Authority. The report received global recognition and has been included in flight safety training courses.