Officials of the Nicosia Assize Court have accepted a recommendation by the Law Office to dismiss all charges against the defendants in connection with the case relating to the 2005 crash of a Helios airplane in Greece which killed all 121 persons on board.
That ends the prosecution of all those at the airline who had faced charges in the Aug. 14, 2005 crash of the Helios Airways Boeing 737–31S on Grammatikos mountain, north of Athens.
Helios Airways, its Executive Chairman Andreas Drakos, Managing Director Demetris Panatzis, Flight Operations Director George Kikkides and Chief Pilot Ianco Stoimenov were charged with manslaughter and causing the death of the victims by alleged reckless, dangerous and careless action.
As reported in the Gazette, the Court accepted the recommendation of Attorney General Petros Clerides to suspend the criminal case and ordered the evidence to be returned to their rightful owners. A Court of Appeals in Athens had convicted month three defendants – Pantazis, Kikkides and Stoimenov – and sentenced them to 122 years imprisonment each. Chief engineer Alan Irwin, the fourth defendant, who had checked the aircraft before the doomed flight, was found not guilty.
An incorrect pressurization setting caused the cabin to lose oxygen, incapacitating the passengers and crew. The error was not discovered despite three checks by airline maintenance staff.
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