Simulation Flight Included Partial Cabin Depressurization

Experts now report a flight attendant was at the controls of a Helios Airways 737 for as long as 12 minutes before it went down on a Greek hillside August 14, killing all 121 people on board.

The simulations showed the flight steward, whose name was not released but analysts said had some flight training experience, took over the controls after it became clear the regular crew and passengers had been incapacitated.

"We have indications that (he) controlled the plane. He took a portable oxygen device and opened the cockpit door using a code," said Seraphim Kamoutsis, head of the Greek investigations team.

The information comes after aviation analysts re-enacted the 737-300 flight from Larnaca, Cyprus to Prague using a similar Olympia Airlines 737. According to the BBC, the analysts went so far as to partially decompress the cabin in an attempt to pinpoint what may have gone wrong on the doomed flight.

An F-16 also flew alongside the plane, just as fighters did after they were scrambled to intercept the Helios airliner after its crew failed to acknowledge communications.

Still unknown is what exactly caused the passengers and crew onboard the Helios flight to lose consciousness. As was previously reported in Aero-News, however, the aircraft involved in the fatal accident had experienced a cabin depressurization incident shortly before the accident occurred.

The experts said the simulation did not make clear if the flight attendant actually had full control of the aircraft, or if he had simply grabbed the controls. The analysts said, however, the flight gave them valuable information towards determining the cause of the accident.

"We got what we wanted from the flight," chief investigator Akrivos Tsolakis told a news conference following the simulation flight. He did not elaborate.

FMI: www.flyhelios.com