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Black Box Clue to Air Crash Fireball That Left 121 Dead Loss of Oxygen Feared in Plane Disaster With No-One at Controls

Posted on: Monday, 15 August 2005, 15:00 CDT

INVESTIGATORS were today examining the two black boxes of the Cypriot plane that crashed in Greece, killing 121 people, including 48 children.

Greece's worst plane crash appears to have been caused by a sudden drop in oxygen.

Two F-16 fighter pilots peered into the cockpit of the jet 34,000ft above the Aegean Sea - and saw nobody at the controls.

The co-pilot was slumped in his seat and the captain was nowhere to be seen, while oxygen masks were hanging from the cabin.

The fighter pilots, sent to intercept the Boeing 737 after radio contact was lost, flew by a second time and saw two people desperately trying to take control of the plane.

It's unclear if they were passengers or crew.

One of the terrified passengers sent a text message to his cousin just minutes before yesterday's crash, saying the pilots were unconscious and adding: "Farewell cousin, here we're frozen."

It's believed the plane may have been flying on autopilot for more than an hour before it slammed into a pine forest and burst into flames.

The tail section was the only part of the plane that remained intact and debris was strewn across two valleys and hills.

Bodies, clothing and luggage were scattered around the wreckage.

Helios Airways' flight ZU 522 was heading from Larnaca, Cyprus, to Athens when it crashed at 12.05pm (10.05am BST) yesterday, near the town of Grammatiko, 25 miles north of Athens. The plane was due to fly on to Prague in the Czech Republic.

All 115 passengers - including 48 children - and the six crew died. Most were Greek Cypriots.

Helios carries thousands of Britons on budget trips to Cyprus, including from Glasgow.

The victims' relatives cried in anguish as they waited for news at Athens and Larnaca airports.

After learning that mechanical failure was the suspected cause, relatives swarmed the counters at Larnaca, shouting "murderers!" and "you deserve lynching!" at Helios Airways managers.

Officials said the plane's two black boxes had been located and were being examined by air accident investigators.

First indications were that the crash was due to decompression or some other technical problem.

Cyprus Transport Minister Haris Thrasou said the plane had problems with decompression in the past.

But Helios Airways spokesman Giorgos Dimitriou said the plane had "no problems and was serviced just last week".

Chris Yates, an aviation analyst with Jane's Transport, said all the indications pointed to depressurisation in the plane.

"From all the evidence we've seen , this plane depressurised very quickly at significant altitude. The co-pilot didn't have time to put the oxygen mask on, " he said.

"It's possible some of the passengers on board, because of their age, because of their health or whatever, may have been able to last a bit longer."

Sudden loss of cabin pressure was blamed on a similar crash in the US in October 1999.

A private Learjet 35 lost pressure and left professional golfer Payne Stewart and four others unconscious. The twin-engine jet went down in a field after flying half-way across the country on autopilot.

Meanwhile, an investigation was launched after a British Airways flight overshot the runway at Hanover, Germany, during heavy rain on a flight from Birmingham, ending up in a field.

BA said the 45 passengers and four crew members were not injured and were able to walk off the small Embraer 145 jet.

TIMESFILE

TIMETABLE of events leading up to the crash:

09.00 (local time) - Helios Airlines Flight ZU522 takes off from Larnaca International Airport in Cyprus.

09.37 - Plane enters Greek airspace and is identified by Greece's Civil Aviation Authority.

10.07 - Control tower at Athens Airport is unable to establish communication with the plane.

10.20 - Air traffic controllers notify Larnaca and are told the plane reported a problem with its air conditioning system.

10.25 - Greece's Civil Aviation Authority notifies Defence Ministry's search and rescue centre.

10.30 - The Greek Defence Ministry issues a Renegade alert.

10.55 - Two F-16 fighter jets scramble to locate airliner.

11.20 - Jets make visual contact with the Cypriot jet, but can't speak with pilots.

11.25 - Fighter jets report the co-pilot appears unconscious in the cockpit, while the other pilot is absent.

Oxygen masks seem to have been activated.

12.05 - Airliner crashes near coastal town of Grammatiko, about 25 miles north of Athens.

Source: Evening Times; Glasgow (UK)

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