Investigation proceeding at record pace

A SECOND preliminary report on the causes of the August 14 Helios Airways crash in Greece, which killed all 121 on board, could be issued by Greek investigators, the head of the Cypriot air-accident investigating committee said yesterday.

Costas Orfanos said a second report could be issued in the next few days.

The first report, issued on Monday, said that the Helios Boeing had lost cabin pressure and ran out of fuel before crashing near the village of Grammatikos, some 40km north of Athens.

The findings, presented to Greek Transport Minister Michalis Liapis, by the head of the investigation Akrivos Tsolakis, said there were indications the Boeing 737-300’s pilots had been incapacitated and that a third man had attempted to fly the aircraft.
Orfanos said yesterday that the Greek committee could not assign responsibility for the accident; it was up to the state to do that.

The sole purpose of the reports issued by the investigating committees was to prevent similar incidents in the future, Orfanos said.

He added: “The investigation has progressed in record time and is on good course.”
He reiterated that the Greek investigating committee would be arriving on the island on Monday to examine witnesses and documents related to the fatal flight.

Orfanos was speaking after a meeting with the two EU air safety experts who are on a two-day fact-finding mission in the wake of the accident.

The two officials were briefed on the progress of the investigation and views were exchanged concerning the accident, Orfanos said.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.