Plane crashes following me!
Discussion
Currently being reported as a Helios (Cypriot) flight,
121 on board, and that the Greek military pilots
intercepting the flight after ATC lost radio contact
observed the co-pilot slumped in the cockpit, and
no sign of the captain, before it hit a mountain.
>> Edited by eharding on Sunday 14th August 10:56
121 on board, and that the Greek military pilots
intercepting the flight after ATC lost radio contact
observed the co-pilot slumped in the cockpit, and
no sign of the captain, before it hit a mountain.
>> Edited by eharding on Sunday 14th August 10:56
It was a Helios Airways Boeing 737. Helios is a low cost subsidiary of Cyprus Airlines. Unusually, although Cyprus Airlines operates Airbus A320s as their main short haul/medium haul airliner, they chose Boeing 737s for their low cost offshoot.
It seems both crew members were incapacitated, which is extremely unusual. Apart from some sort of deliberate act by someone on the plane, ie. a member of the crew or a passenger, the most likely reason for this is fumes in the cockpit or rapid decompression. It does not seem that the aircraft broadcast any sort of emergency so whatever happened to the crew, happened very quickly.
This is indeed a strange one.
It seems both crew members were incapacitated, which is extremely unusual. Apart from some sort of deliberate act by someone on the plane, ie. a member of the crew or a passenger, the most likely reason for this is fumes in the cockpit or rapid decompression. It does not seem that the aircraft broadcast any sort of emergency so whatever happened to the crew, happened very quickly.
This is indeed a strange one.
google news;
Plane was flying 'pilotless
Athens - A Cypriot Boeing 737 airliner with 121 people on board from Larnaca, Cyprus, crashed apparently pilotless on Sunday onto a mountain on the Euboea peninsula, northeast of Athens, a traffic controller at Athens international airport told AFP.
Just before the crash, airforce crew observed the airline's pilots doubled up in the cabin, the controller said.
"The plane has crashed," said Iannis Pantazatos, who was in charge of the Athens airport control tower. "The information was given to us by the airforce, which sent two fighters to escort the aircraft."
There was no immediate word on casualties.
Shortly before the plane crashed, Pantazatos told AFP: "The airport lost all contact with the plane, which should have landed in the late morning, and two air force planes sent up in reconnaissance found it flying above the Euboea peninsula, but they saw the pilots doubled up in the cabin."
"We do not know how the plane is flying. It is being escorted by the military planes and the airport is in a state of emergency." he said.
The Helios airways plane was reported to be carrying 115 passengers and six crew.
Helios, established in 1999, is the first private airline in Cyprus. It had a fleet of four Boeing 737 jets and operated flights to London, Athens, Sofia, Dublin and Strasbourg in France.
Plane was flying 'pilotless
Athens - A Cypriot Boeing 737 airliner with 121 people on board from Larnaca, Cyprus, crashed apparently pilotless on Sunday onto a mountain on the Euboea peninsula, northeast of Athens, a traffic controller at Athens international airport told AFP.
Just before the crash, airforce crew observed the airline's pilots doubled up in the cabin, the controller said.
"The plane has crashed," said Iannis Pantazatos, who was in charge of the Athens airport control tower. "The information was given to us by the airforce, which sent two fighters to escort the aircraft."
There was no immediate word on casualties.
Shortly before the plane crashed, Pantazatos told AFP: "The airport lost all contact with the plane, which should have landed in the late morning, and two air force planes sent up in reconnaissance found it flying above the Euboea peninsula, but they saw the pilots doubled up in the cabin."
"We do not know how the plane is flying. It is being escorted by the military planes and the airport is in a state of emergency." he said.
The Helios airways plane was reported to be carrying 115 passengers and six crew.
Helios, established in 1999, is the first private airline in Cyprus. It had a fleet of four Boeing 737 jets and operated flights to London, Athens, Sofia, Dublin and Strasbourg in France.
It's very reminiscent of the circumstances which resulted in the death of golfer Payne Stewart. His Learjet suffered a rapid decompression which incapacitated everyone on board. Contact was lost and F-16s were scrambled to intercept. They found the plane flying pilotless and it flew on until it ran out of fuel and crashed in open countryside.
A very rare occurence, but not completely unknown.
A very rare occurence, but not completely unknown.
srebbe64 said:
I'm currently in Athens and a few minutes ago a Turkish plane came down with 110 on board.
On Satursay I was on the Italian coast and a plane came down a few miles off-shore! Not sure if I'll want to fly home next week.
srebbe stay there - sounds like a very good excuse to extend your stay
According to local gossip here in Athens, phone calls were received from passengers on board saying there were 'freezing temperatures' on board, but not decompression. One passenger seemed to know the pilot was dead and said 'goodbye' to his family. As such, it sounds mechanical and not a hijacking.
God bless the relatives of those killed.
God bless the relatives of those killed.
'Pilots face is blue, this plane is freezing, farewell' this sounds like a nightmare for those poor people.
If the crew suffered an explosive decompression why didn't they have time to put masks on? unless a birdstrike hit the co pilots windscreen.
And why did it not just keep flying as it seems it was on autopilot?
If the crew suffered an explosive decompression why didn't they have time to put masks on? unless a birdstrike hit the co pilots windscreen.
And why did it not just keep flying as it seems it was on autopilot?
Would the plane have begun a pre-programmed descent profile as it approached Athens airport - irrespective as to whether the pliots were actually physically flying the aircraft? Only, it wasn't on the correct heading and simply descended into the hillside. Also, autopilots can trip off line can't they?
There are a number of strsnge elements to this accident.
It certainly does look like decompression was the root cause. However, it is odd that the flight crew were incapacitated and at least some of the passengers weren't. Secondly, how did the passengers have access to the flight deck? The person who texted about the condition of the pilot and co-pilot must have been able to access the cockpit. I thought flight deck doors were securely locked these days. Unless, of course, the text was actually sent by one of the flight attendants rather than a passenger.
>> Edited by Eric Mc on Sunday 14th August 12:52
There are a number of strsnge elements to this accident.
It certainly does look like decompression was the root cause. However, it is odd that the flight crew were incapacitated and at least some of the passengers weren't. Secondly, how did the passengers have access to the flight deck? The person who texted about the condition of the pilot and co-pilot must have been able to access the cockpit. I thought flight deck doors were securely locked these days. Unless, of course, the text was actually sent by one of the flight attendants rather than a passenger.
>> Edited by Eric Mc on Sunday 14th August 12:52
One comment makes sense, if the leak was a slow one, the masks wouldn't drop as they only come down with sudden decompression, the crew reported AC problems which would be a symptom of loss of cabin pressure, one of the crew not at his station because he was looking for a fault? I imagine the pilot slumping on the controls would have over ridden the autopilot, holding it in a shallow dive?
>> Edited by apache on Sunday 14th August 13:10
>> Edited by apache on Sunday 14th August 13:10
The one thing that can sometimes affect flight crew but not passengers are fumes in the cockpit. A malfunctioning pressurisation system can also generate fumes which may have knocked out the pilot and the co-pilot. The fact that a passenger said he was freezing indicates that maybe the heater elements of the pressurisation systems had failed.
It does seem a weird one. It would have to be bloody cold to kill people. I've wandered around commercial freezers at -32c in shorts and t-shirt before. Granted, you wouldn't want to stay in there too long, but it would take a long time to kill you.
Just how cold is it at 30,000 feet?
Phil
Just how cold is it at 30,000 feet?
Phil
Eric Mc said:
It's very reminiscent of the circumstances which resulted in the death of golfer Payne Stewart. His Learjet suffered a rapid decompression which incapacitated everyone on board. Contact was lost and F-16s were scrambled to intercept. They found the plane flying pilotless and it flew on until it ran out of fuel and crashed in open countryside.
A very rare occurence, but not completely unknown.
I remember that. I was at Schipol when it was announced that our plane would be delayed for essential maintenance.
Everyone turned to look out of the departure lounge window (we were at the gate) to see a cherry-picker with two scruffy oiks busy changing a window on the plane.
It didn't seem to be an involved operation (a few screws) and we were soon under way. When I got to the States I heard about the Learjet...
philthy said:
It does seem a weird one. It would have to be bloody cold to kill people. I've wandered around commercial freezers at -32c in shorts and t-shirt before. Granted, you wouldn't want to stay in there too long, but it would take a long time to kill you.
Just how cold is it at 30,000 feet?
Phil
minus 50?
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