Cyprus Commemorates Victims of 19-Year-Old Helios Airways Plane Crash

On August 14, Cyprus honors the memory of the victims of the Helios Airways plane crash that occurred 19 years ago, claiming the lives of 121 people from Cyprus and Greece.

The Boeing 737-31S, operating as Helios Airways Flight HCY 522, tragically crashed on August 14, 2005, in the mountainous region of Grammatiko, Attica, Greece.

The flight had departed from Larnaca Airport that morning and entered Athens’ FIR (Flight Information Region) at 10:15 AM without making contact with air traffic control. Two F-16 fighter jets were scrambled from Nea Anchialos at 11:05 AM and made visual contact with the aircraft at 11:18 AM. Unfortunately, at 12:04 PM, the plane crashed, with no survivors.

All 115 passengers, including 22 children, and the six crew members lost their lives in the crash. Twelve of the passengers were from Greece. A total of 118 charred bodies were recovered from the wreckage, while three bodies were completely incinerated due to the ensuing fire.

The Greek Air Accident Investigation and Aviation Safety Board released their report on the crash 14 months later, in October 2006.

Legal proceedings began on September 17, 2009, with five Helios Airlines executives facing trial in Nicosia. On February 18, 2013, all defendants were acquitted of all charges.

The Attorney General decided to halt further prosecution due to insurmountable difficulties in advancing the case. However, four Helios Airlines executives were convicted in a Greek court.

Akrivos Tsolakis, the investigator who led the inquiry and authored the crash report, passed away in October 2023 at the age of 93. In a 2020 interview with the Cyprus News Agency, Tsolakis described the Helios crash as the most tragic event of his life, one that had robbed him of sleep ever since.