Helios air crash marks 21 years as biggest peacetime tragedy in Cyprus remains unpunished

Local cyprusGreeceplane crashTop News Helios air crash marks 21 years as biggest peacetime tragedy in Cyprus remains unpunished Helios Id 636031 1 Relevant News Helios air crash marks 21 years as biggest peacetime tragedy in Cyprus remains unpunished 14 August 2026 Massive fires ravage many UK regions, 6 injured and thousands evacuated as PM holds COBRA meeting 14 August 2026 More than 70 drivers speeding, 8 under the influence with 17 arrests, including knife possession 14 August 2026 Constantinos Tsindas 14 August 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber It’s been more than two decades but what happened on the fateful morning of August 14th 2005, has remained very much on the frontlines of our collective memory as the island marks the tragic anniversary, eerily coinciding with the 2nd phase of the Turkish invasion which completed the violent de facto situation that the country has been facing for 52 years. The Helios Airways flight was heading to Prague via Athens, when it crashed on a mountain in Grammatiko Attikis, outside the Greek capital, killing all 121 passengers, including 22 children and six crew. 103 were Cypriots and 12 were of Greek descent. Whole families were wiped out, while many minors who stayed behind, lost both their parents that day. Many of the victims lived in Paralimni, were a memorial services was held last Sunday, with Transport Minister Evanthia Tsolaki saying that the state needs to continue supporting the families of all victims, not merely as an obligation but ‘a collective debt and a remembrance of their pain, far from private, but a tragic memory for all’. The loss will never heal and 21 years on, those left to mourn carry the load with that same shattered heart as the day of the crash. The Flight The flight departed from Larnaca airport just after nine in the morning and at 1015 it entered Greek airspace. By that time, air traffic controllers had lost all communication with the aircraft. At 1105, two Greek F16s took off from Nea Aghialos base and came into visual contact with the Boeing 737 three minutes later. The pilots reported that the captain was unconscious and the emergency oxygen mask system had been activated. As established in the Akrivos Tsolakis investigation, the aircraft was flying on automatic pilot and most of the passengers and crew had lost consciousness. Flight attendant Andreas Prodromou was seen in the cockpit frantically trying to regain control. At 1205, the Helios Airways flight crashed onto the side of the Grammatiko mountain, killing 115 passengers and six crew. Court Decision On February 18th 2013, almost 8 years after the crash, a Criminal Court in Nicosia cleared all accused of wrongdoing, after the Attorney General’s Office withdrew charges for all natural persons and Helios Airways. The Legal Service had charged Helios CEO and Executive Director Andreas Drakos and Dimitris Pantazis, the company’s Flights Director Yiorgos Kikkidis and Yianko Stoimenov, the Bulgarian Chief Captain. In Greece, were the crash occurred, an Appeals Court, turned the initial 122 year sentence for each individual into a ten year prison term which was bought off for 73 thousand euro, with the accused released soon after. The Attorney General’s Office subsequently withdrew the case in Cyprus, acting on the premise that no one can be charged for the same crime in two countries. As such, the Attorney General ruled that chat he could no longer pursue the case, as it would face ‘overbearing legal complexities’. It therefore remains unpunished, 7665 days later. Subscribe to our Newsletter Latest News Massive fires ravage many UK regions, 6 injured and thousands evacuated as PM holds COBRA meeting More than 70 drivers speeding, 8 under the influence with 17 arrests, including knife possession Stormy holiday on the way, as hail and showers take over from heatwave From Fidias to Makarios and political decay Hard to detect, easy to conceal Remedica widens Clonotril recall: check your batch number Minor held with adult inmates at overcrowded Limassol centre Follow en.philenews on Google News and be the first to know all the news about Cyprus and the world.