Antenna: News in English (PM), 97-12-19

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From: Antenna Radio <http://www.antenna.gr> - email: antenna@compulink.gr

Last Updated: Friday, 19-Dec-97 13:35:44

CONTENTS

[01] Plane crash

[02] Simitis-Stefanopoulos

[03] Plane details

[04] Weather

[05] "Red Brigades"

[06] Sports

[07] Vasso Papantoniou

[01] Plane crash

The Ukrainian airline Aerosweet flight, which appears to have gotten lost and then crashed as it was preparing to land in Thessaloniki, was carrying 42 Greeks, many of whom were going home for the holidays.

As of Thusday evening, search teams had been unable to find the plane in the area it is believed to have gone down.

Relatives and friends of the people on board the ill-fated Iak 42 plane spent hours of agony at Thessaloniki airport Thursday, after learning that the Aerosweet flight from Kiev and Odessa had disappeared just before it was due to land.

At 8:42 pm, the Ukrainian plane entered Greek air space, and for the next 18 minutes, the pilot had a series of conversations with the control tower in Thessaloniki.

After an unsuccessful initial landing attempt, the pilot requested radar guidance, indicating he had lost his bearings.

The tower offered to guide him in over the radio. Agreeing, the pilot reported at 12 minutes past 9 that he was starting his second approach to the airport. That was the last thing anyone heard from the flight.

Approaching Thessaloniki from the north, the plane veered off to the west, rather than continue the correct circling pattern.

From there, it headed into the mountainous region southwest of the city, into the region not far from Mount Olympus.

Eyewitnesses in the villages where the plane was lost, reported hearing the plane pass over.

In Fotina, villagers said they heard an explosion.

One man said, "It flew through here, at a low altitude".

Another man added, "Just before 10, I heard a noise. I went outside, but couldn't see anything through the fog. The power went down at the same time, and my wife said she'd heard an explosion".

Scores of residents from villages in the area gave similar accounts.

All said the fog and low cloud cover made it impossible for them to find anything in the searches they set out on as soon as they heard on the news that the plane had been lost in their area.

In Vrontou, villagers said they'd seen a flash of light, but they didn't know if it was from power lines going down or the plane exploding.

Poor visibility and heavy snowfall frustrated search and rescue efforts all day Thursday.

But the search went on. Antenna's heliopter joined other choppers and planes dispatched to comb the region for some sign of the aircraft.

With visibility at no more than 500 metres, hopes dimmed as nightfall approached.

Authorities say that if the plane crashed into a high peak, it could take a long time for the wreckage to be found. And with the freezing temperatures, there was little hope of any passengers surviving the cold, even if they had lived through the crash.

At 9 am, army units set out from the village of Milia in search of the craft.

Fire trucks and police were drafted in to help out the search by land.

And naval vessels joined the search efforts, as the crash area is near the sea.

By late afternoon, the search efforts were being concentrated in the area between the villages of Sfikia, Sykia, and Elafina.

Owing to the poor visibilities, the same areas had to be searched over and over again.

As night fell, the search was stopped until daybreak Friday.

The chairman of Greece's joint chiefs of staff, general Athanassios Tzoganis said that by nightfall, search teams had been unable to comb all the areas where the plane was suspected of being.

Only the black box from the plane will ever be able to tell the world what went wrong on the flight. Some sources report that the pilot had a poor command of English, making his communication with the control tower difficult. It was the Ukrainian pilot's first flight into Thessaloniki, but airport officials say they can't understand what the problem was, as landing conditions were good Wednesday night.

[02] Simitis-Stefanopoulos

President Kostis Stephanopoulos called it a day of pain for everyone, as the two leaders discussed the bad news from the search front.

On Thursday evening, prime minister Kostas Simitis expressed his hope that the search crews will be able to locate the plane when they resume their search Friday morning.

[03] Plane details

When Greek president Kostis Stephanopoulos's Olympic airways Boeing was kept on the tarmac in Kiev this week, his hosts suggested he fly to Odessa in a Iak 42. Advised of its flaws, he declined the offer, and travelled overland.

The ill-fated Soviet-built plane, constructed in 1956, was originally used as a military transport. It was later turned over for commercial use.

In 1970, it was acquired by the Soviet airline Aeroflot. When Aeroflot went out of business, three thousand airlines sprang up in its place in the former Soviet Union.

Among them was the Ukrainian company Aerosweet. The Iak 42 aircraft is noted to be of inferior quality - it has serious problems with its oil pumps and landing gear. Its one advantage over its western cousins is its ability to operate in extremely low temperatures.

The Iak 42 has always been judged best for short or medium range flights, and Aerosweet normally uses a Boeing on its flights to Greece.

Thursday was a tragic exception to that rule. When it arrived in Odessa from Kiev, the Boeing was supposed to continue on to Thessaloniki, but mechanical problems meant the passengers had to be transferred to the Yak 42.

[04] Weather

Twenty villages are cut-off in the regions of Xanthi and Kavala.

Snow-chains are must for cars travelling to Thessaloniki, Larissa and Ioannina.

[05] "Red Brigades"

But the Italian authorities are charging him not with terrorist acts, but with drug-related offences and robbery.

The Greek authorities arrested Bianco, and he has been held in an Athens prison since November 24th.

[06] Sports

And they do it despite losing to England in Norwich Wednesday night.

The home side beats its Greek guests 4-2, but it doesn't matter. Greece won the first leg of that match-up two-nil in Athens, and advances to the next round by virtue of the fact that it scored twice on the England pitch.

[07] Vasso Papantoniou

The four CD release is accompanied by a 48 page picture book about the history of the performances and recordings.

Speaking about her recent release, Papantoniou said, "My intention was to release songs that directly reflect how I feel about music. To leave my mark so to speak".

During the course of her career, Papantoniou performed two of the most famous roles of Bel Canto; That of Lucretia Vorgia from the opera of the same name by Gaetano Donichetti recorded in 1971 and Amina from the opera of Vincenzo Bellini "The sleep-walker" recorded in 1974.

Commenting on the fact that she is sometimes compared to Kallas, Papantoniou said modestly, "I was a girl who wished to express herself through music. It so happens I'm also Greek and made for theatrical music acts, but I'm certainly not a second Kallas".

The CDs were recorded before a live audience at the French state radio station studios.

(c) ANT1 Radio 1997

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