Today air safety experts, inspectors and air traffic alert controllers throughout Europe enforce EU air safety standards, which are putting an end to unsafe airlines entering our skies. We want people to know about the list, so they don’t book with an airline that is – as Helios used to be – lax on safety,” Bombay says.
Helios airways flight 522 flight attendant update#
We update the list twice a year, and everyone can find it on the Internet. “It’s the EU’s tool to ban unsafe airlines from flying in Europe. The second list (Annex B) includes airlines that are restricted from operating under certain conditions in Europe.
The first list (Annex A) includes all airlines banned from operating in Europe. In the wake of the disaster, the EU took decisive action to make flying in Europe safer and more transparent.Īccording to Bombay, the EU Air Safety List was created the year of the crash.
“The Helios flight 522 accident happened because the airline had been neglecting safety inspections for a long time,” Peter Bombay of the Transport and Mobility Department of the European Commission says. The engineer (the one who had conducted the pressurization leak check) asked “Can you confirm that the pressurization panel is set to AUTO?” However, the captain, already experiencing the onset of hypoxia’s initial symptoms, disregarded the question and instead asked in reply, “Where are my equipment cooling circuit breakers?” This was the last communication with the aircraft. Shortly after the cabin altitude warning sounded, the captain radioed the Helios operations centre and reported “the take-off configuration warning on” and “cooling equipment normal and alternate off line.” He then spoke to the ground engineer and repeatedly stated that the “cooling ventilation fan lights were off.” In the next few minutes, several warning lights on the overhead panel in the cockpit illuminated. The warning should have prompted the crew to stop climbing, but it was misidentified by the crew as a take-off configuration warning, which signals that the aircraft is not ready for take-off, and can only sound on the ground. As it passed through an altitude of 12,040 feet (3,670 m), the cabin altitude warning horn sounded. However, the engineer failed to reset it to “auto” on completion of the test.Īfter the aircraft was returned into service, the flight crew overlooked the pressurisation system state on three separate occasions: during the pre-flight procedure, the after-start check, and the after take-off check.Īs the aircraft climbed en route to Athens, the pressure inside the cabin gradually decreased. In order to carry out this check without requiring the aircraft’s engines, the pressurisation system was set to “manual”. The inspection was carried out by a ground engineer.
Helios airways flight 522 flight attendant full#
When the aircraft arrived from London earlier that morning, the previous flight crew had reported a frozen door seal and abnormal noises coming from the right aft service door and requested a full inspection of the door. “This pointed to a poor safety culture at Helios as well as at other low-cost airlines implicated in crashes around that time.” Today, European air transport officials admit that the Helios crash was a turning point in the union’s flight safety as it forced transport authorities to apply stricter checks on airlines.Īccording to the official website of the European Union, investigations into Helios Airways uncovered numerous safety protocol errors and inspection oversights. It was the deadliest aviation accident in Greek history. Despite the heroic efforts of flight attendant Andreas Prodromou who had a UK Commercial Pilot Licence, the aircraft eventually ran out of fuel and at 12:04 pm crashed in mountains near Grammatiko, Greece, killing all 115 passengers and a crew of six. Investigators concluded that a loss of cabin pressurisation incapacitated the crew, leaving the aircraft flying on autopilot. Seven minutes later, the pilots reported a problem with airconditioning and at 9:20 am, at an altitude of 3,670 m the crew made its last contact with Larnaca. At 9:07 am on August 14, 2005, Helios Airways Flight 522, departed from Larnaca to fly to Prague with a stop off at Athens International Airport.
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