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Black Box Damage Could Limit Probe

Posted on: Tuesday, 16 August 2005, 06:00 CDT

Damage to a cockpit voice recorder could hinder investigators' efforts to discover the cause of the Cypriot airliner disaster that claimed 121 lives, it emerged last night.

A Greek air safety chief said the recorder ( one of two "black boxes" recovered from the wrecked aircraft ( was badly damaged.

Both were being sent to Paris for examination but safety chief Akrivos Tsolakis said the voice recorder was "in a bad state and, possibly, it won't give us the information we need".

Investigators will want to know what caused the problem that led to a loss of cabin pressure on the Boeing 737 aircraft operated by Cypriot-based Helios Airlines.

They will also want to discover if a back-up oxygen system for the pilots failed or whether they were overcome before being able to don oxygen masks.

Helios, which is owned by UK and Cyprus-registered Libra Holidays Group, flies into a number of UK airports from Cyprus.

Flights continued yesterday, with Helios adamant that its planes were checked and maintained to international standards.

"All our aircraft are checked very, very thoroughly according to international standards," said Vicky Xitas, Helios's commercial manager.

"Following the accident, we are doing no more or no less that we normally do in the way of checks and maintenance. The captain of the plane was German, in his 50s and very experienced. The co-pilot was aged around 45 and also very experienced. Our own experts have joined the other investigators and our executives have flown to Greece."

After taking off from Larnaca in Cyprus, the plane was due to have landed in Athens before flying on to Prague. The pilots first reported air-conditioning system problems, then radio contact with the plane was lost and two Greek fighter jets were sent to accompany the aircraft.

According to a Greek government spokesman, the fighter crews could see the co-pilot slumped over his seat and the captain was not in the cockpit. Two people were possibly trying to take over the controls but it was not clear if they were crew or passengers. The plane eventually crashed into a hill north of Athens. Various Greek sources suggested:

* The victims may have been dead before the crash.

* There were 21 children on board, although Helios reported that there were only 10 people aboard aged 12 or under.

* Some of the recovered bodies were "frozen solid".

* The plane had a history of technical faults.

A spokesman for the group's UK tour operation, Libra Holidays, said yesterday that it did not expect any significant changes to customers' holiday plans.

Source: The Journal - Newcastle-upon-Tyne

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