22/08/2005

Cypriot airliner depressurised and out of fuel

Crash investigators have confirmed that preliminary findings indicate that the Cypriot airliner, which crashed on August 14, had depressurised and had run out of fuel when it crashed.

Helios flight 522 en route to Prague from Larnaca via Athens crashed into a hillside around 40kms north of Athens on Sunday August 14, killing all 121 people on board.

Autopsies have been conducted on all 118 bodies recovered from the crash site, but it is reported that the captain's body and those of two others are missing.

The incident, the worst ever air accident in Greece, occurred near to Athens at around 12.00pm local time on Sunday when the aircraft plunged into a hillside. The only identifiable portion of the aircraft, a Boeing 737, was the tail section.

The crew of Greek F-16 fighter jets scrambled to intercept the airliner after air traffic controllers declared the flight "renegade," reported seeing the co-pilot slumped at the controls as it flew at an altitude of 34,000 ft.

The fighter pilots also reported that two unidentified individuals were apparently trying to take control of the aircraft.

Oxygen masks had also apparently been deployed in the cabin.

(SP/KMcA)

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