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Helios Airways Flight 522

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Helios Airways Flight 522

Helios Airways Flight 522 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Larnaca, Cyprus, to Prague, Czech Republic, with a stopover in Athens, Greece, operated by a Boeing 737-300. Shortly after takeoff on 14 August 2005, Nicosia air traffic control (ATC) lost contact with the pilots operating the flight; it eventually crashed near Grammatiko, Greece, killing all 121 passengers and crew on board. It is the deadliest aviation accident in Greek history. An investigation into the accident by Greece's Air Accident Investigation and Aviation Safety Board (AAIASB) concluded that the crew had failed to notice that the cabin pressurization system was set to "manual" during takeoff checks. A ground engineer had set it to "manual" to conduct testing before the flight, but had most likely forgotten to restore it to "auto" afterward. This configuration was subsequently missed by the crew during their pre-flight checks. This caused the plane to gradually depressurize as it climbed, and resulted in everyone on board suffering from critical hypoxia. The negligent nature of the accident led to lawsuits being filed against Helios Airways and Boeing, with the former also being shut down by the Government of Cyprus the following year.

Infobox

Date
14 August 2005 (2005-08-14)
Summary
Poor situational awareness due to a dual purpose warning sound horn design flaw, causing eventual crew incapacitation due to loss of pressurization, leading to fuel exhaustion and crash
Site
Grammatiko, Greece 38°13′52″N 23°58′16″E / 38 °N 23 °E / 38 ; 23
Aircraft type
Boeing 737-31S
Aircraft name
Olympia
Operator
Helios Airways
IATA flight No.
ZU522
ICAO flight No.
HCY522
Call sign
HELIOS 522
Registration
5B-DBY
Flight origin
Larnaca International Airport, Cyprus
Stopover
Athens International Airport, Greece
Destination
Prague Ruzyně International Airport, Czech Republic
Occupants
121
Passengers
115
Crew
6
Fatalities
121
Survivors
0

Tables

· Accident
Date: 14 August 2005 All times Eastern European Summer Time (EEST) (UTC + 3) in 24 h format
Date: 14 August 2005 All times Eastern European Summer Time (EEST) (UTC + 3) in 24 h format
Col 1
Date: 14 August 2005 All times Eastern European Summer Time (EEST) (UTC + 3) in 24 h format
Time
Time
Col 1
Time
Col 2
Event
09:00
09:00
Col 1
09:00
Col 2
Scheduled departure
09:07
09:07
Col 1
09:07
Col 2
Departs Larnaca International Airport
09:12:38
09:12:38
Col 1
09:12:38
Col 2
Cabin altitude warning sounds at 12,040 feet (3,670 m)
09:14:11
09:14:11
Col 1
09:14:11
Col 2
Pilots report air conditioning problem
09:20:21
09:20:21
Col 1
09:20:21
Col 2
Last contact with crew, altitude is 28,900 feet (8,809 m)
09:23:32
09:23:32
Col 1
09:23:32
Col 2
Now at 34,000 feet (10,400 m) likely on autopilot
09:37
09:37
Col 1
09:37
Col 2
Enters Athens flight information region, Nicosia ATC informs Athens ATC that radio contact has been lost Aircraft begins circling Athens on autopilot
10:12–10:50
10:12–10:50
Col 1
10:12–10:50
Col 2
No response to radio calls from Athens ATC
10:45
10:45
Col 1
10:45
Col 2
Scheduled arrival in Athens
10:54
10:54
Col 1
10:54
Col 2
Athens Joint Rescue Coordination Centre alerted to possible renegade aircraft
11:05
11:05
Col 1
11:05
Col 2
Two F-16 fighters depart Nea Anchialos
11:23:51
11:23:51
Col 1
11:23:51
Col 2
Located by F-16s over Aegean island of Kea
11:32
11:32
Col 1
11:32
Col 2
Fighters see co-pilot slumped over, cabin oxygen deployed, no signs of terrorism
11:49
11:49
Col 1
11:49
Col 2
Fighters see an individual in the cockpit, apparently trying to regain control of aircraft
11:49:50
11:49:50
Col 1
11:49:50
Col 2
Left ( ) engine stops operating, presumably due to fuel depletion
11:54
11:54
Col 1
11:54
Col 2
Cockpit voice recorder records a total of five mayday messages
11:59:47
11:59:47
Col 1
11:59:47
Col 2
Right ( ) engine stops operating
12:03:32
12:03:32
Col 1
12:03:32
Col 2
Aircraft crashes in mountains near Grammatiko, Greece
Date: 14 August 2005 All times Eastern European Summer Time (EEST) (UTC + 3) in 24 h format
Time
Event
09:00
Scheduled departure
09:07
Departs Larnaca International Airport
09:12:38
Cabin altitude warning sounds at 12,040 feet (3,670 m)
09:14:11
Pilots report air conditioning problem
09:20:21
Last contact with crew, altitude is 28,900 feet (8,809 m)
09:23:32
Now at 34,000 feet (10,400 m) likely on autopilot
09:37
Enters Athens flight information region, Nicosia ATC informs Athens ATC that radio contact has been lost Aircraft begins circling Athens on autopilot
10:12–10:50
No response to radio calls from Athens ATC
10:45
Scheduled arrival in Athens
10:54
Athens Joint Rescue Coordination Centre alerted to possible renegade aircraft
11:05
Two F-16 fighters depart Nea Anchialos
11:23:51
Located by F-16s over Aegean island of Kea
11:32
Fighters see co-pilot slumped over, cabin oxygen deployed, no signs of terrorism
11:49
Fighters see an individual in the cockpit, apparently trying to regain control of aircraft
11:49:50
Left ( ) engine stops operating, presumably due to fuel depletion
11:54
Cockpit voice recorder records a total of five mayday messages
11:59:47
Right ( ) engine stops operating
12:03:32
Aircraft crashes in mountains near Grammatiko, Greece
· Passengers
Cyprus
Cyprus
Nationality
Cyprus
Passengers
103
Crew
4
Total
107
Germany
Germany
Nationality
Germany
Passengers
0
Crew
1
Total
1
Greece
Greece
Nationality
Greece
Passengers
12
Crew
1
Total
13
Total
Total
Nationality
Total
Passengers
115
Crew
6
Total
121
Nationality
Passengers
Crew
Total
Cyprus
103
4
107
Germany
0
1
1
Greece
12
1
13
Total
115
6
121

References

  1. Aviation Safety Network
    https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20050814-0
  2. Aviation Safety Network
    https://aviation-safety.net/database/country/country.php?id=SX
  3. BBC News
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6099632.stm
  4. Cyprus Mail
    https://archive.cyprus-mail.com/2006/11/03/end-of-the-road-for-ajet/
  5. "Aircraft Accident Report: Helios Airways Flight HCY522 at Grammatiko, Greece on 14 August 2005"
    https://www.aaiasb.eu/reports/522/aaiasb-11-2006-final-report-english-language.pdf
  6. Interflug
    http://www.interflug.biz/Im%20Gedenken%20Flieger.htm
  7. asn
    https://asn.flightsafety.org/reports/2005/20050814_B733_5B-DBY.pdf
  8. "Two trying to save jet ID'd"
    https://www.news24.com/news24/two-trying-to-save-jet-idd-20050816
  9. Famagusta Gazette
    https://web.archive.org/web/20160304025024/http://famagusta-gazette.com/helios-crash-background-information-p237-69.htm
  10. The New York Times
    https://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/15/world/europe/15iht-crash.html
  11. Mayday
  12. The Sydney Morning Herald
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/pair-who-tried-to-save-doomed-jet-identified-20050817-gdlw56.html
  13. Unsolved: The Mystery of Helios 522. Discovery Channel. 25 July 2006.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7hVMVL2qH8&t=944sAircrash
  14. flash
    http://greece.flash.gr//soon/2005/8/14/28904id/
  15. The Greek Herald
    https://greekherald.com.au/culture/ghost-flight-121-lives-lost-2005-helios-airways-crash/
  16. AAIASB final report, section 1 "Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR)", p. 39 (PDF page 51 of 198): "The CVR was taken to be tran
  17. AAIASB final report, section 1 "Flight Data Recorder (FDR)", p. 40 (PDF page 52 of 198): "The FDR was found near the rig
  18. AAIASB final report, section 2 "Descent", p. 127 (PDF page 139 of 198): "During the initial descent, at 08:54:18 h, the
  19. AAIASB final report, section 1 "Medical Information", p. 57 (PDF page 69 of 198): "The forensic report concluded that th
  20. AAIASB final report, section 1 "Passenger Oxygen", p. 33 (PDF page 45 of 198): "Once any of the four masks of a PSU is p
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