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Helios Airways crash was due to human error
A report has blamed human error for last year’s Helios Airways crash in Cyprus which killed all 121 people on board.
The Boeing 737-300 travelling from Larnaca to Prague on August 14 crashed near Athens.
According to a Greek inquiry report, pilots misread instruments regulating cabin pressure and also misinterpreted a warning signal.
Pilots and passengers were left unconscious when the aircraft was starved of oxygen as it gained altitude.
The plane flew on autopilot for nearly two hours before it ran out of fuel and crashed into a hillside.
The report also blamed maintenance crews for leaving pressure controls on the wrong setting, and criticised manufacturer Boeing for taking “ineffective” measures in response to previous incidents involving problems with pressurisation on the same type of aircraft.
Owned by Libra Holidays Group, Helios has since rebranded as Ajet, a move which it says was already planned before the tragic accident.
A spokeswoman for the group said it has not seen a copy of the report, because it has not yet been officially handed over to the Cyprus Government, and it would not be able to comment until that time.
By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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