On August 14, 2005, Helios Airways Flight 522 crashed, marking the deadliest aviation disaster in Cypriot and Greek history. The Boeing 737-31S, operated by a Cypriot airline, went down in Grammatiko, Attica, claiming the lives of all 121 people on board.
On the morning of that day, the Boeing 737 took off from Larnaca for a scheduled flight to Athens, in transit to Prague, its final destination.
The investigation into the tragedy, led by the Hellenic Accident Investigation and Flight Safety Committee under Akrivos Tsolakis, revealed the cause was a sudden depressurization of the aircraft cabin. The core issue was traced back to a critical oversight: during the pre-flight check, the cabin pressurization switch was mistakenly left in the manual setting. This led to a gradual drop in atmospheric pressure and oxygen levels as the plane ascended.
The crew and passengers lost consciousness due to oxygen deprivation. The plane continued to fly on autopilot until it ran out of fuel and crashed. The only person who remained conscious for a time was flight attendant Andreas Prodromos, who held a portable oxygen supply. He heroically attempted to regain control of the plane, but tragically, his efforts were unsuccessful.
Legal aftermath of the Helios crash
The subsequent legal process was extensive. In February 2013, after years of investigation and hearings, a Greek court delivered its verdict. Three of the four defendants—the company’s CEO, Dimitris Pantazis; the director of flight operations, Giorgos Kikkidis; and the chief pilot, Yanko Stoimenov—were found guilty of serial manslaughter. They were each sentenced to a 10-year prison term.
However, the court recognized their “previous good conduct” as a mitigating factor, which, under Greek law at the time, allowed them to buy out their sentences. Each man could commute his 10-year prison sentence by paying 80,000 euros. Helios ceased all flights in November 2006, just over a year after the Flight 522 disaster.
Following the crash, the airline’s reputation was severely damaged, and its financial state deteriorated. The Cypriot government froze its bank accounts and detained its aircraft for tax-related issues. This led the company to announce the ceasing of operations.
Related: List of Plane Crashes in Greece the Last 25 years
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