YESTERDAY’S tragic crash was not the first time Helios had problems with flights. In the past two years alone there were several incidents involving troubled flights and urgent landings.

WITH condolences coming in from across Europe, the government yesterday announced a three-day mourning period for the 121 people killed in the Helios Airways crash.

SPECULATION over what had caused the Helios plane crash was rife yesterday, as airline experts questioned the failure of the pilots to react promptly to fall of cabin pressure on flight ZU 522.

There is usually adequate time to take action once cabin pressure starts to drop and all planes carry warning systems.

DRAMATIC scenes unfolded at Larnaca airport as relatives of the passengers of the fatal flight anxiously demanded information about the fates of their loved ones, which the company took six hours to release.

Even when they finally did, the information was incomplete.

THE HARROWING eyewitness reports of the crash of a Cypriot airliner in Greece yesterday left the country reeling in shock.

HELIOS Airways 9am flight ZU522 from Larnaca to Prague via Athens crashed just after midday yesterday in a hill 40km north of the Greek capital, killing all 115 passengers and six crew, mostly Cypriots.

Helios Airways was established as the first independent private-owned airline in Cyprus in 1999 and was owned and operated by the Mouskos family. The airline was sold in November 2004 to Libra Holiday Group for £5 million.
• May 2000: First chartered flight to London Gatwick

• April 2001: Delivery of two new Boeing 737-800 Next Generation aircraft