Two people seen trying to take control of doomed Cypriot plane

Hindustan Times ^ | August 14, 2005

[nickcarraway]

Two people tried to take the controls of the Cypriot Boeing 737 passenger jet before it crashed near Athens on Sunday killing all 121 people on board, a Greek government spokesman said.

Pilots of two Greek air force F16 fighters that were scrambled to investigate after the doomed aircraft lost contact saw the two people trying to assume control in the cockpit during the final approach, Theodore Roussopoulos said.

"They saw two people in the cockpit, we don't know if they were crew members or passengers, appearing to want to take over the controls," he said after a government meeting called to discuss the accident. The two pilots had initially seen "the co-pilot slumped over and perhaps unconscious and the pilot not in his seat", he added.

They had also reported that oxygen masks were "activated" in the cabin, he said.The plane crashed in woodland on a hillside at Varnava, about 40 kilometres (25 miles) northeast of the Greek capital.

[Jet Jaguar]

Bump!

[navysealdad]

Suspicious

[reagan_fanatic]

Uh-oh.

[TheForceOfOne]

Weird

[oolatec]

No, I don't think they were terrorists... most likely other passengers who realized the pilots passed out, and they wanted to try and help.

[Americanexpat]

Or just maybe two people trying to prolong their lives a little bit more.

I do agree the whole thing looks a little bit suspicious. I am glad the plane did not crash into the city of Athens and possibly killed hundreds more people.

[DAC22]

Just like Payne Stewart

[ncountylee]

I think I smell the stench of Islamopukes.

[RebelTex]

An earlier article on same crash:    Cabin pressure drop could've cause the crash

[jimboster]

Are there Greek soldiers in Iraq?

[cripplecreek]

"Or just maybe two people trying to prolong their lives a little bit more."


No kidding. I don't know the first thing about flying but you can bet I'm going to step foward to try if nobody else does it.

[Prime Choice]

This has a bad feeling to it. Passengers should not have been able to access the cockpit.

This has a very 9/11-ish feel to it.

[Central Scrutiniser]

The plane had a history of decompression issues, additionally, the plane circled in autopilot around its last waypoint for a few hours, the landing was scheduled for 10:45, and it crashed around 12:20, it sounds like it ran out of fuel.

It could have been a faulty crew oxygen system in the cockpit. The passengers froze to death. Pretty terrible way to go.

[rbg81]

If it was Islamic terrorism, betcha that Greece and the EU will try to sweep it under the carpet.

[Central Scrutiniser]

Could be the flight attendants, they have access to the cockpit.

When they lost pressurization, you have a short period of time to put on your oxygen mask before you pass out, so I doubt any passenger was able to get to the cockpit.

[Pearls Before Swine]

No, I don't think they were terrorists... most likely other passengers who realized the pilots passed out, and they wanted to try and help.

Wouldn't the passengers be more likely to pass out first? The pilots know what to do in the event of pressure loss, and I would presume (correct me if I'm wrong) quicker access to oxygen.

[atlanta67]

no there arent and you guys are just a bit too anxious to call it terrorism

[advance_copy]

From the AP Report:

About a half-hour after takeoff, pilots reported air-conditioning system problems to Cyprus air traffic control. Within minutes, after entering Greek air space over the Aegean, the Boeing 737 lost all radio contact. Two Greek F-16 fighter jets were dispatched soon afterward.

When the F-16s intercepted the plane, jet pilots could see the co-pilot slumped over his seat. The captain was not in the cockpit, and oxygen masks dangled inside the cabin, government spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos said.

He said the jet pilots also saw two people possibly trying to take control of the plane; it was unclear if they were crew members or passengers. The plane apparently was on automatic pilot when it crashed, Helios spokesman Marios Konstantinidis said in Cyprus.

"When a pilot has no communication with the control tower, the procedure dictates that other planes must accompany and help the plane land. Unfortunately, it appeared that the pilot was already dead as was, possibly, everyone else on the plane," Cyprus Transport Minister Haris Thrasou said.

The head of the Greek airline safety committee, Akrivos Tsolakis, said the crash was the "worst accident we've ever had." He said the plane's black boxes had been recovered, containing data and voice recordings valuable for determining the cause

"There apparently was a lack of oxygen, which is usually the case when the cabin is depressurized," Tsolakis said.

The F-16 jets met the plane at 34,000 feet, the Greek air force said. At that altitude, the effects of depressurization are swift, said David Kaminski Morrow, of the British-based Air Transport Intelligence magazine.

"If the aircraft is at 30,000 feet, you don't stay conscious for long, maybe 15 to 30 seconds. It is like standing on top of Mount Everest," he said. "But if you are down at 10,000 feet, you can breathe for a lot longer."

The flight was to have continued to Prague, Czech Republic, after stopping in Athens. The crash occurred at the height of Europe's summer vacation, when Mediterranean resorts like Cyprus are packed with tourists. The area was likely to be particularly crowded, because Monday is a national holiday in Greece and Cyprus.

There were 48 children aboard, mostly Greek Cypriots, Helios spokesman Giorgos Dimitriou said in Athens.

Greek state television quoted the Cyprus transport minister as saying the plane had decompression problems in the past. However, Helios representative Dimitriou said the plane had "no problems and was serviced just last week."

On Cyprus, several callers to radio and television programs said they experienced severe air-conditioning problems on Helios jets in recent months. Some said the cabin was freezing and the crew provided blankets; others said it became unbearably hot.

Looks like sudden cabin decompression, not terrorism.

[cripplecreek]

There was a text message from a passenger as well. No mention of terrorists, just that the pilots were passed out.