THE ATTORNEY-general’s investigation into the 2005 Helios crash, which killed all 121 passengers and crew members on board, is in its final stages.
In a meeting that took place behind closed doors yesterday, Attorney-general Petros Clerides filled in the House Communications Committee with all the latest developments in the investigation.
“This was the third in a series of meetings where the Committee was informed on the way investigations were going into the airline tragedy,” Committee Chairman Zacharias Koulias of DIKO said after the session.
“It seems they are at the final stages, with a team from the Attorney-general’s office investigating the police report, as well as the reports of [Greek investigator Akrivos] Tsolakis and [Cypriot investigator Panayiotis] Kallis,” he added.
Koulias was careful with what he told the media, considering the critical point at which investigations were. “You understand if something is leaked, this can give the opportunity to lawyers to prepare a strong defence. We need to be very careful at this point.”
No questions were made to the AG, according to the Committee Chairman. “It was clearly to be informed and not exercise any pressure on the AG. We didn’t set timeframes. We want the correct decisions to be made on this very sensitive matter and the experts in charge of the investigation need to be left to their own devices so they can make these right decisions.”
The last phase will be the court cases, provided the AG decides the case needs to go to court.
“If we were to say what happened inside we would have let the media in,” Koulias responded to persistent questioning. “All I can say is that we are satisfied that the state has acted correctly in all the stages of this investigation,” he said, pointing out that a similar case in France took over eight years to resolve.
“There are so many issues to look into, such as when [Greek Prime Minister Constantinos] Karamanlis had to make the decision whether to order the Civil Aviation to bring down the pilotless plane. There are so many implications and people involved this all needs to be examined thoroughly.”
In contrast to Koulias, Green Party MP George Perdikis said he wasn’t satisfied with the AG’s explanations. “We want a binding timeframe for a conclusion to this investigation, as well as a regular briefing on how it is proceeding to the relatives of the Helios victims.”
Perdikis added, “I understand that it needs careful handling, but we are dealing with human pain here. An extension for the investigation is justifiable, but relatives need to be informed on what is going on.”
On August 14, 2005 Cypriot airline Helios Airways flew unpiloted for just under three hours and crashed in the hilly area of Grammatikos just north of Athens.
The crash claimed 121 lives, mostly Cypriot families going on holiday and it was considered one of the worst in European aviation history.
In the three years since the crash, a lot has been said about the way Legal Services in Cyprus have dealt with the legal proceedings into the aviation disaster. Some relatives living in Greece have launched suits in Greek courts against former airline Helios and plane manufacturers Boeing.
