THE STATE yesterday wrapped up its case in the Helios airline crash trial after the defence finished cross-examining the last prosecution witness, a former investigator with the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
Defence attorney Giorgos Papaioannou questioned the level of influence Boeing has in a crash investigation. He referred specifically to Boeing’s involvement in the investigation of plane crashes in the US on March 3, 1991 and on September 8, 1994.
Witness Gregory Phillips said while manufacturers may have some influence in the procedure, since checks are done at Boeing, it is the investigating team that has control as it sets the methods of investigation.
Boeing simply has a supportive role on technical matters, said Phillips, adding if the investigating team had a choice to carry out checks elsewhere, it would.
The defence lawyer then noted that the NTSB reviewed its report on the Colorado Springs crash after the Pittsburgh crash, changing in the final report the causes of the accident ten years later.
He asked whether the same could happen in the Helios case if the defence’s group of advisers present new evidence regarding the causes leading to the Helios crash.
The witness said it could happen in any case where there was new evidence.
The court reconvenes on Thursday when the defence will have to decide whether to call to the stand witnesses who were initially included in the prosecution’s list but did not testify.
After that, the court will decide whether the state has a case or not.
The prosecution’s case hinges on convincing the court that the company was liable for employing unfit pilots who flew the Boeing 737 aircraft that crashed in Grammatikos in Greece on August 14, 2005, killing all 121 on board.
The defendants in the trial are former chief pilot Ianko Stoimenov; Andreas Drakos, chairman of the board of Helios; Demetris Pantazis, chief executive officer; Giorgos Kikidis, operations manager for the airline; and Helios Airways as a legal entity.
They face charges of manslaughter and of causing the death of 119 people through a reckless act. They are on trial for “employing, and continuing to employ, unfit and inadequate pilots.”
